Coming out of his room at an early six o'clock, Brent found the hallway quiet and empty. A radio that has been on since last night was playing the end of a Guns n' Roses song, then continued with the DJ's comments about the band.
After checking the garage and finding no one awake, he sat at the bar and poured himself some beer from the only keg that said 'NO ALCOHOL'. But after tasting it he realized that the label was wrong.
Annoyed, he went behind the bar and started looking at the pictures that were hanging from the wood-paneled wall. Some twenty photos randomly posted, each one with the crew starting from what looked like the 80's. He took off one of the older ones and flipped it: 'Highway Legion MC, 1983, Fontana'.
Then he heard a door opening. He nervously put the photo back and went to check who it was. Christoph was coming out of his room wearing only some black jeans with long silver chains hanging from them till below his knee. There were at least 5 tattoos on his torso, including a message that read 'WHITE HATE' on his left peck. He grinned at Brent and went in the bathroom. The blonde was naked in his bed under the sheets, still asleep.
His room was quite neat apart from the clothes and boots that were lying around, thrown carelessly the previous night. He had a small bookshelf filled with German literature, war novels and some documents. Two black and white photographs of the same person were on his nightstand next to what seemed to be a Nazi medal. Above the bed was an old, framed Luger pistol.
Brent was startled by the sound of the bathroom door slamming, which Chris shut with a kick. The commotion caused the blonde to wake up too.
'What's going on?' she asked sighing.
'Come on, get up, get your clothes and leave.' ordered Chris.
She made a surprised and disappointed face but didn't dare argue; Brent turned around as she got dressed, took her boots and bra in her arms and left the room.
'What are you doing here?' Chris asked while taking a shirt from his dresser and started putting on his boots.
'I just… no one was awake and…' -Chris gave him an unpleasant look- 'that's a nice… gun you have.' he changed the subject pointing at the Luger.
'Ah, yes! It belonged to my grandfather. So did that medal: Ritterkreuz Des Eisernen Kreuzes. It means The Knight's Cross of Iron Cross. He got it in 1940 for excellence in troop command. He was a very brave man, devoted to his country. And he didn't tolerate insolence, my old man said. That gun was given to him by Herr General Gustav Lombard himself! It was a tremendous honor. My father wasn't half the man he was…'
'Not that story again…' interrupted Vicky rolling her eyes. 'Come on bro, I'll buy you breakfast.' Brent looked at her relieved and went to his room to get his jacket. 'I see you've made another one cry, Chris. Can you ever not be a prick?'
'Maybe one day you'll find out for yourself. You might even like it when I make you cry!' answered Chris, giving a devilish grin.
'Yeah, I bet German lovin' is just what I was looking for. See you around, Fritz!' she said laughing, while exiting to the yard where her brother was waiting.
She mounted her bike and kick-started it telling him to get on. They went to the place where she has most of her breakfasts. Not that she eats too often in the morning; usually she wakes up in the afternoon and has only two meals a day. The consequences of an intense nightlife… She ordered her usual toast, eggs and a cup of coffee with extra milk and sugar and Brent got the same, except the coffee. He preferred… orange juice.
'You sure you don't want coffee?' Vicky asked him, a little embarrassed.
'No, it's okay…' he said, eating his eggs rather quickly and messily.
'So tell me; why were you looking for me? And where's Julie?'
'She… left. I couldn't keep my job at that electronics store and she needed "a real man" that can provide for her. She said she wanted kids one day and we can barely make rent. So she moved back in with her parents and… you're the only family I've got left, sis… I have no money, and now I don't have a place to stay anymore either…' he told her, ceasing to eat.
'Listen, I'm not gonna leave you out on the streets. You can stay at the clubhouse; I'll talk to Richard and if you put in some work at the garage he shouldn't mind having you around.'
'I don't know how to thank you… I'm… I'm sorry I didn't listen to you about Julie. I was an idiot. I hope you can forgive me.' he humbly admitted.
'You were an idiot… but hey, what are sisters for if not taking care of stupid little brothers?' she said, wiping her mouth with the napkin.
As she finished her coffee and Brent his juice, Vicky got a call from Eddie telling her that Richard and Chris went out to investigate a case in Colton and she should meet up with them there.
'Alright, I'm on my way.' she said to Eddie, putting her phone back in her pocket. She wasn't the purse-carrying type. She always thought they were pointless and there's no use to carry one around when everything she needed could fit in her pants and jacket.
'Uuhm, listen, I've an errand to run; here's some cab money, go wait for me at the club. Talk to Eddie, tell him to find you something to work on.'
'What kind of errand?'
'I'll explain when I get back, alright? Gotta run!' she said, throwing a twenty on the counter on her way out. With a roar of the engine, she was off, making Brent feel left behind, but he quickly consoled himself by finishing off Vicky's breakfast.
In Colton, she found Richard and Chris sitting on their bikes by a rather tall and old wooden house. As she arrived, Richard went to greet her.
'Did you bring the silver rounds?'
'Yeah, four cases, it should be enough, right?' said Vicky, taking a box of shining bullets out of her saddle bag. 'How many of 'em are there?'
'Judging by the number of bodies by the water, at least two. One of them is young.' started Chris. 'I say we can go in now, it's almost noon; they are surely resting.'
'Right, let's move!' commanded Richard.
They loaded their guns and cautiously headed towards the house. As Chris pushed the door open, sunlight filled the room. All the windows and blinds were closed and the curtains pulled. The relatively small living room contained a coffee table, a purple couch with a red blanket on it and a rocking chair next to a tall bookshelf. A few family photos were placed on the large television. Richard went upstairs; Chris and Vicky checked the kitchen and ground floor bathroom.
'Second floor, on your left!' shouted Richard and the two came up to the bedroom, where a brown pinewood coffin and a black, larger one made from oak stood on either side of the double bed.
They opened the smaller one where a brown-haired boy in his late twenties was laying on his back in a deep, almost deadly sleep. He had ordinary and rather dirty clothes and no shoes or socks on. After seeing the two bite marks on his neck, Richard administered him a bullet to the head and two to the heart. They then moved on to the other casket. It was more beautiful than the latter and it had steel locks at both ends. Vicky shot them off using a small pistol with standard rounds which she kept at her heel. When they lifted the heavy cover they found that the coffin was empty. The three of them holstered their weapons and Vicky gave Richard a look, expecting orders.
'Chris and I will spend the day here, we'll wait till he comes for his coffin at night and finish this; you can go back and look after your brother.'
'You sure you don't need me?' she asked, looking at both of them.
'It's fine, Vicky, you can sit this one out. You know how predictable vampires are… and I saw a bar close by so we'll be fine.' Chris answered with a chuckle.
'Yeah, your brother needs you now, go take care of him.' added Richard.
'Alright… stay safe guys.' she said, patting Chris on the back and heading towards her motorcycle.
Back at the clubhouse, Vicky found her brother, Eddie, and a few more mechanics at the bar, laughing and speaking loudly. She walked up to Brent but then stepped back as he threw up on the floor. The others started laughing again, even harder. She cursed at Eddie, but he laughed harder still. Fed up, she took Brent to the bathroom, cleaned him up and then sat him down on the bed in her room. She brought two cups of coffee and shut the door to try and get some silence.
'This' what you call work?' she demanded.
'I'm s-sorry…' he muttered, shaking a bit and rubbing his stomach trying to soothe the pain.
'You really aren't used to drinking are you?'
'N…no…' he said, lying down on the bed, and pulling the sheets over himself. Vicky watched over him as he fell asleep and then went back to the bar to talk to the old man.
The men were quiet now, most of them went back to work; Eddie was watching the news on the small TV from the wall, still taking sips from the whiskey bottle.
'Eddie, I want a word with you.' she told him with a firm tone.
'Sure darlin'. I'm just takin' a small brake 'ere.' he answered.
'Listen, can you find my brother something to do around here? Nothing too hard but… maybe teach him a few thing bout Harleys…'
'Sure doll, anythin' you want.'
'I appreciate it. Take it easy with the drinks though; especially with Brent. He's still little.'
'He was the life o' the party, you should be proud of 'im!' he said, laughing and taking the bottle to his lips, but Vicky took it out of his hand this time.
'I think you had enough of that, go take a nap and get back to work before Richard sees you like this. He'll be coming back soon.' she said, putting the bottle back on the shelf.
