Chapter 47: The Short Ride Of Steel Cowboys

Earl's Diner, Temperance, South Dakota...

True to form, old man Gunner and Rooster were already sitting at the front counter and discussing their upcoming travel plans. Taz and Goldie were getting a bit hot and heavy in the back and Art had finished inspecting the bikes and determining their condition for the road trip, despite being a short way from Temperance. He'd been of the mind to be better safe than sorry and for once Brick was inclined to agree with him. Ironclad had been ensuring the boys didn't get into too much trouble while their President had been away. Brick walked up to the counter and ordered a beer settling his nerves to ready himself for the trip ahead. Gunner seemed to be the first to notice the rather serious expression on the younger werewolf's face as he downed the beer quickly and called for the attention of his boys, Goldie included. The rowdy bunch had instinctively turned their attention to the matters at hand knowing full well what the consequences of ignoring Brick would be if they didn't.

The leather-clad werewolf president may not have been Alpha of The Moonwood Pack, but he was most definitely the son of one and carried the blood accordingly.

"Listen up, we got ourselves a new fish in the water," he said in his usual drawl. "Word is this fish is a slippery bastard and where it's heading is in our best interest due to another opportunity with a bonus supply of cash in the vicinity."

The mention of bonus cash seemed to have gotten everyone's undivided attention.

"Sounds like this is a big deal," said Rooster observing his younger counterpart's body language. "For big money."

"Indeed it is old man," replied Brick with a smirk. "Best part is, we ain't even got that far to travel."

"Why not?" asked Gunner with an arched brow.

"Deals going down in Wyoming," replied Brick.

There was a bit of hooting and hollering from the crew evidently liking the sound of that. Especially, Gearhead considering his fondness for Temperance, South Dakota as of meeting Phoebe at the diner.

"Alright, you lazy assholes let's ride." continued Brick as he finished off his beer and led the gang of bikers out the front door.

Phoebe had been a bit sad to watch Art go but was pleased that she would be seeing him again as it was said to be a short trip with big gains.

The crew headed out on their bikes with Brick taking lead and Gunner and Rooster getting the younger members in formation with Ironclad heading up the rear. The roar of the engines and the smoke from their collective exhaust had both intrigued and disturbed the residents of Temperance, South Dakota to no end.

Brick had been looking forward to spending more time with Laya once he returned a few thousand dollars richer and a lot of time on his hands. He had no doubt that she'd been thinking the same along the lines of his eventual return to Temperance. For the time being, he simply focused his efforts on retrieving the new fish that had been swimming upstream at a steady rate.

He had no idea why a Bail jumper was this important but he could care less when the object was to impress the real client who had been awaiting a capable crew for a long-standing cold case.

The more he thought on it, the stranger it seemed that this case had been cold for almost fifteen years. Word had been the main person looking into it had chased a lead all the way to Wyoming and never left due to the trail going cold. Brick couldn't imagine having to endure something like that and being haunted due to abject failure for years on end. He wasn't much for assisting the law without the right provocation but the thought of a fifteen-year-long case going unsolved and the family not having closure one way or the other didn't sit well with the man ironically born with the first name of a Knight from King Arthur's Roundtable.

Gunner had heard talk for years about a missing girl being taken at a carnival and no one being any the wiser about her location. They said she was just gone without a trace but her parents' dead bodies were found beaten and bloodied in a ditch on the side of the road not far from the carnival. The family was devastated and rightly so with the implication that something awful had also happened to the little girl and no one knew what became of her.

The riders stopped at the nearby street light and Gunner pulled up to Brick to get a word in amid the roaring engines.

"You think this is about that girl that went missing some years back?" asked the older werewolf with an arched brow.

"Didn't get any details from Sherrif Tillman," replied Brick. "But I got a feeling it is, family probably desperate and at the end of their rope."

"I'll say, after all this time," replied Gunner with a sigh. "Suppose we end up being the one's that find her?"

"Then it would make Johnny law look awful bad in this situation," replied Brick.

"Since when do you care about that?" asked Gunner with a grin.

Brick returned his grin knowing full well that he had no love for law enforcement considering his many many run-ins with it in his more rebellious days. He had only contented to become a bounty hunter due to the money and the thrill of riding cross country to chase down the guilty party for sport. As a werewolf, his newfound profession suited him just fine.

The light changed and they continued their ride hoping to be in Wyoming and on the trail of their bail jumper before sundown as the full moon was still in effect and the last thing they needed was to end up shifting in the middle of a place they knew nothing about with being so close to being chosen for the newest case.