Chapter 42: A Renegade Collar

The Sheriff's Office, Temperance, South Dakota....

Tabacco spit reflected off the darkened asphalt as Brick Kenneally stood outside the local sheriff's station with his arms folded across his biker leather clad chest. He had been something on the impatient side as he had been pressed for time before Layla's shift ended at the diner and he had to venture back to meet up with her. He had not in the least been looking forward to having to leave Temperance, or Layla behind, but business was business and they were always in the need for cash no matter what town they ventured to. Just as before, Sheriff Tillman managed to come round the corner and greeted the larger brute of a man with the tipping of his brown hat as he opened the door to his office and Brick followed after him. The height comparison was quite an interesting one as Brick had to duck to enter the office through the door, while the good sheriff simply strolled inside.

"It's always a pleasure doing business with you boys." said Sheriff Tillman with something of a smile filed across his pudgy yet aged face. "That last degenerate you brought in is sitting pretty in prison as we speak, pity he was broken to the point that no one else could have any real fun with him, suppose I have you to thank of his lack of inclination to run any time soon."

"Not exactly old man." replied Brick leaning against a nearby wall with his arms folded against his leather clad chest. "You see he ran into a zygote den and I'm guessing he ain't liked what he saw when he went in."

Sheriff Tillman arched a brow at this for a moment, but then recalled the familiar reports of another biker gang having taken his former collar hostage.

"Damn." he replied with a sigh. "I almost feel sorry for the son of a bitch....almost."

"I don't." replied Brick with a wicked grin. "From where I'm standing, the sick son of a bitch got exactly what he deserved and then some."

"You'll get no argument from me about that." said Sheriff Tillman. "Anyway, I've got another collar for you boys should you be interested."

"Figured something along those lines." replied Brick dropping his hands down to his sides. "Lay it on me."

Sheriff Tillman appeared to delight in Brick's eagerness to assist with apprehending the scumbags he couldn't catch himself.

"This one is a piece of shit bail jumper." he said plain and simple. "Run out on a bondsman owing $5,000 and thought he'd skip town and jail time in the process."

"Sounds like an easy collar." said Brick making note of the new target.

"Easy collar, difficult to find." replied Sheriff Tillman. "Word is the sly son of a bitch is always on the move to stay one step ahead of the law."

"Sounds about right." replied Brick with something of a smirk filed across his rugged bearded face. "Something I'd do if I was him."

Sheriff Tillman sighed.

"Well slick bastard's been through three states before the authorities managed to realize he'd been in their backyard." he continued. "The bondsman ain't too keen on letting fish get off the hook if you know what I mean and is only a step away from sending out heavy hitters."

Brick's brow arched when he heard this.

"Must be a series crime to bail jump." he said with a smirk.

"Hardly, this particular bondsman is more along the side of debt collecting and not above using brute force to do it." replied Sheriff Tillman. "Now I would like the minimization of bloodshed if it can be handled and less people making the law look incompetent in the eyes of the public."

"Not seeing how that's my problem." remarked Brick, as he had no real love for the law in his own right given his own outlaw lifestyle.

"The aforementioned bondsman put out a high bounty on the running fool's head and will pay quite the sum for him returned alive." said Sheriff Tillman. "Money's so good I might have joined in myself had I the time and resources."

"And you thought to share this information with me?" said Brick with an arched brow once more. "What's the catch old man?"

"Favor for a favor and all that." replied Sheriff Tillman. "There's a man in Wyoming that's looking for good decent folk to take on a job that's about fifteen years in the making."

"Wyoming?" asked Brick seemingly intrigued.

"The collar won't see you coming seeing as you ain't the law, you get paid a heavy sum for the ordeal, and contact with my old hunting buddy in Wyoming who's got a missing person's case that's been cold for fifteen years." Sheriff Tillman explained. "He's been on about the case since forever and I recommended you boys after the last collaboration over the phone."

"So this case is a trial run?" asked Brick.

"Something like that, seeing as how if and when you find the collar you'll be turning the no good son of a bitch in to my buddy in wyoming, where the bondsman is stationed." continued The Sheriff.

Brick pondered this new development for a few moments as the money was definitely a reason to get involved and the distance wasn't that far from South Dakota which meant he could be there and back before the day was done, assuming he managed to locate his target and ride back to Temperance before the sunset.

Also the possibility of finding out what made this one fifteen year long cold case so important to the sheriff's hunting buddy was almost too good to pass up. He had already taken on the notion that if they were coming to the likes of him for assistance, this case was truly something special and the level of desperation had said it all.

"Alright old man." replied Brick seeing to getting all his ducks in a row. "I might be able to help you and your partner out, of course my price ain't cheap, but the promise of this new thing with the cold case does have my interest."

Sheriff Tillman looked to be quite relieved.

"So you'll do it?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I'll do it." replied Brick evenly. "We'll ride out tomorrow and look into your bail jumper situation and this so called cold case."

"I ain't got the words to tell you how much I appreciate you helping finally put this thing to bed." said Sheriff Tillman. "This things been keeping most of us up at night and walking on eggshells for years, I'll let Wyatt give you all the details when you get there, seems only right as he'd been working at it for as long as I can remember."

"See you around old man." said Brick taking his leave of the old sheriff.

"See you around." replied Sheriff Tillman.

Once Brick had left he sat down at his desk more than relieved to have two things off his plate as of late and confidant that they would finally have a means of laying these longstanding matters to rest.

Some odd years back, if anyone had told him he'd be getting the assistance of a known motorcycle gang to help with long standing cases he'd have either laughed or shot the person on the spot, but here he was enlisting assistance from bikers on cases. It was a shock to the system as to what the world had been coming to, but given the history of lawmen being aided via numerous criminals, he shouldn't have been too surprised by it.