Captain – Brothers At Arms #6
Captain: Chapter 9

Gina walked over to the window and looked outside.

Captain joined her and asked, “What’s going on?” he asked her.

Gina shook her head. “I’m just thinking how surreal the last few days have been.” Shrugging, she added, “I mean that. I came here looking for my best friend and found myself drawn into a Family drama with shootouts like I’m used to but not this kind. Wow, I mean really just wow.”

Captain grinned. “You handled those flash bombs like you’d done it before, that’s for sure.”

Gina shrugged. “I owned a slingshot when I was a kid.”

Captain nodded. “I guess you did. You hit targets better than I did as a kid.”

She sighed. “I grew up on the south side of Chicago where being black was being a second class citizen. I had to use a slingshot when I was a kid just to get kids to leave me be. I clawed my way out of poverty and will never go back to that life. As soon as I was eighteen, I made a vow that I would never look back and I didn’t. I moved to Kansas City and applied to the Marshal office. Then when I got my chance, I took it with both hands. Desi and I met and became good friends. When she resigned her commission and came here, I followed her. What was I supposed to do? Ignore that? No fucking way. Her and I have been through too much for me to just let her walk away. I had to know why she did it. Now I don’t have a choice but to leave her behind, she’s met her man and will more than likely stay here.”

“Couldn’t you move to this area?” Captain wanted to know.

“And why would I do that?” she finally asked.

Captain leaned forward and their lips met. The kiss went wild as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Then Captain broke the kiss and she looked at him with confusion in her eyes.

 ”Do you always respond to a kiss that wildly?” he asked.

Gina shook her head. “I’ve never been kissed like that before.”

“When I first looked into your eyes I felt a real jolt. Like an immediate spark. I don’t think that’s ever happened to me before.”

“What do you want with me?” she whispered. “I ain’t nothing but trouble. I’m stubborn and I say what I think. Lots of men can’t handle that.”

Captain wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned in close to whisper, “Honey you are my kind of trouble. I found you and I’m keeping you if you let me.”

Gina just stared at him for a moment then shook her head. “You can’t just make a statement like that.”

“Why not?” Captain asked as he pulled her a little closer. “I do plan to keep you, with your consent of course. You trigger something inside me like no other woman ever has.”

Gina stared at him for a moment then said, “Yeah?”

Captain nodded. “Yeah. You think on your feet, you’re smart, you’ve seen a lot in your young life, probably more than most. And you’re absolutely gorgeous And yes, you got a mouth on you that don’t quit, but you treat everyone the same, from Leon to Barrett. You came here to protect your best friend, I admire that too.”

“Well look at you being all wordy and shit. I didn’t know you had it in you. But I like it,” Gina whispered then kissed him.

Captain groaned as he took over the kiss and deepened it. They lost control of it as they clung together and never noticed the silence behind them. Captain finally lifted his head to look around.

 Zeus met his gaze and growled, “Get a room, brother.”

Gina flushed red as she buried her face into his chest.

Captain shook his head. “We aren’t there yet, but thanks for the tip, Prez.”

Gina giggled and hid her face in his chest then she stepped back after a moment. “Yeah, we’ve got work to do.” She turned to face the lot of them.

Desi was smiling widely and even winked at her.

Gina smiled back and gave her a thumbs up. “You know I didn’t understand you being with a biker before now.”

The men all stared at her.

Desi laughed. “Men who can ride, can roll with the tide.”

Gina stared at her and laughed. “Maybe…Maybe.” Then she looked over at Zeus and asked, “What’s the first order of business, bossman?”

“The first order,” Alfredo answered her. “…will be writing the letter for the newspapers. I need to get the message out so we have a hope of stopping this madness.”

Zeus nodded. “The rest of us need to clean up this mess and rebuild the fireplace so no one knows what’s missing here. The girls say they can handle that, but we need new bricks, I think.” He glanced over at Marty then back to Gina. “We don’t want anything to tip off the Marshals when they get here.”

Diabolus nodded. “I know a guy in town. He’s a brick layer and maybe we can get him to help us to get bricks quickly. Otherwise, it might take 2 days or more to get them.”

“Give him a call.” Zeus nodded as he walked over to the bar and grabbed a beer. He stood there alone and sipped the brew as his men got busy cleaning up the area.

Marty walked over and asked, “Are you alright?”

Zeus took another sip of his beer and shook his head. “No, I don’t think I am. All of this mess is nothing but bullshit. Why the Raggetti’s thought this would work is beyond me. We should have been told from the beginning what this house was hiding.” When she opened her mouth, Zeus raised his hand and shook his head. “I know, I know. The old man never thought for a moment that his son and grandsons took anything his father said seriously. But he was wrong wasn’t he?”

“You can’t really blame him can you?” Marty asked.

“No, I can’t,” Zeus admitted as he took another sip of his beer. “I’m putting the blame directly on Barrett’s shoulders where it belongs. He’s a cocky son of a bitch isn’t he? Thinking he could barge right the fuck in here and we would roll over, getting his men killed over what? So many bodies stacked up because of him.”

Marty stared at him for a moment then shook her head. “And Barrett doesn’t seem to give a shit, does he?”

Zeus shook his head. “No baby, he doesn’t, and maybe he never will. But everyone around him will know him for what he truly is. And maybe seeing that will be enough for us and be hell for him.”

“When word gets out, people will know the truth,” Marty replied. “And like my dad used to say. The sun, the moon, and the truth are three things that cannot remain hidden.” She chuckled. “I learned later in my life that Buddha had said that first but I have always thought it was the truest thing I ever heard.”

Zeus actually smiled at her. “Man, I wish I’d known your dad.”

Marty sighed. “Yeah, he would have taken one look at you and pulled his rifle out to ask, why you had the name of a god.”

Zeus stared at her. “What?”

“He always measured men by taking them off guard.” She grinned at him. “And I know exactly what you would have done.”

He cocked his head at her while looking curious.

“You would look him square in the eye and say, you earned that name the fucking hard way. Then he would accept you at your word until you proved it wrong.”

Zeus stared at her and then laughed. “You just keep getting better and better, babe.” Setting his beer down, he tugged her close and kissed her.

Marty fell into the kiss and their world shrunk down to just the two of them.

“I would say get a room, but you would kick my ass,” Captain stated from close by.

The kiss broke and Marty looked over at him. “I sure would.”

Zeus suddenly laughed. “And I would let her.”

Captain smirked. “Smart asses.”

Diabolus joined them and grabbed a beer. “Jack will be here in an hour with supplies enough to rebuild the fireplace overnight.”

Zeus nodded. “Good, we need to get this done and get back to normal around here. We still have to rebuild the bar in town and get that up and running again.”

Marty nodded. “And I have to find a warehouse and get a business set up again.”

Zeus paused to stare at her. “What do you mean?”

“If Lily, Lindy and I are staying in the area, I need to set up offices here.”

“You bringing in a new business?” Diabolus asked. “Maybe set up new jobs?”

“Yeah, I was thinking of doing just that.” Marty shrugged. “If you think there’s an opportunity here, that is.”

Diabolus nodded. “Yeah, there’s a need for that here. Who knows, maybe you’ll put Fergus on the map for something other than being a trouble spot for the Brothers At Arms.”

Zeus shook his head. “Talk about being infamous.”

Marty nodded. “I wasn’t banking too hard on the factory idea because I wasn’t sure how many of the locals needed jobs.”

Zeus snorted. “A lot of people are looking for work. You put up a factory here and you’ll find plenty of workers.”

Marty nodded. “Good, I can promise them a fair wage too.”

“That’ll be a good thing. They just need the work to provide for their families, you know?” Diabolus said.

 Marty nodded. “Yeah, it’s tough out there right now and so many are falling behind. My dad tried to teach me and Sam to do what’s right. Sam could never get that idea in her head. She thought wealth was the answer to all her problems. She blew through money like most people drink water but I don’t think it ever made her happy.” She paused then added, “I’ve always had money but I liked the idea of working for my paycheck. A person needs to feel he or she did an honest week of work, you know? You earned that paycheck and that gives you a feeling that can’t be beat.”

Zeus nodded. “Yeah, I know that feeling all too well. I had two or three jobs at a time before the service just to make enough to pay the bills and the rent.”

Marty smiled at him as if this did not surprise her. “The Shaw brand is growing and we are always in need of people and new factories.” Then she exhaled. “But one step at a time, we need to get this situation settled first then we can look at the other.”

Diabolus snorted. “Bet you never expected all this shit to go down when you first arrived, did you?”

Marty shook her head. “I sure didn’t. Oddly, it started with Sam and her connection to the Raggetti family.”

Zeus studied her and had to ask, “Do you regret it? Coming here I mean?”

Marty smiled. “Oh, it had its challenges, I have to admit that but I got two wonderful little girls and you out of the deal. How can I object to that?” Looking around the room, she shook her head. “And I thought life would be boring living in a small town.”

“Boring?” Diabolus snorted. “Well, this has been anything but boring.”

“You got that right.” Marty chuckled. “But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” She chuckled all the way back to Lindy’s table.

Diabolus looked over at Zeus and said, “You better not lose that woman, boss.”

“Well damn, I’m glad you finally see it.” Zeus raised a brow at him.

Diabolus shook his head. “A man can learn.”

Zeus laughed and slapped him on the back.

He stumbled forward about a foot. “Damn Zeus. Watch it would ya?”

 ”Yeah, yeah…” Zeus looked around and spotted Marty talking to the women. “When things settle down around here, I plan on marrying her. I didn’t know if I would ever get married again but she fits into this life so well, I just can’t imagine her not being here. And Angel loves her so much already.”

“I know I can’t imagine life without Lindy either.” Diabolus shook his head. “I just hope this mess is finally over now.”

“Me too.” Zeus sighed. “Once the Marshals come to pick up Barrett and his men, we should be done then.”

“I’m ready for it to be boring around here again.” Diabolus chuckled. “Although I have a feeling your woman could make it not so boring after all, what do you think?”

Zeus just smiled. “With her, there’s a few things I can always count on.” Then he walked over to the table and sat down near Alfredo.

Diabolus stared after him as he mumbled, “I hate it when he does that. A few things? Like what?”

Leaning forward, Zeus asked Alfredo, “Do you know what you want to say yet?”

Alfredo nodded. “Si, I do. I just have to word it correctly.” He shrugged. “And then I have no idea who to send it to, really.”

Gina walked over and placed her hand on Alfredo’s shoulder. “You write it and I know where to send it. I know this is hard on you, but it must be done.”

Alfredo nodded. “Si it must be done. This is the only way to finally stop him.”

Delaney knelt in front of her grandfather and patted his knee. “You aren’t in this alone Grandpa. I’m here with you and I’m sure Desi is too.”

“Si senor, I am here too,” Desi agreed. “It is hard for me to call another man grandfather but I will get used to it as we get to know each other better.” She shrugged. “I would like to get to know you both, if you’ll let me.” She looked over at Delaney and said, “I always wished I had a sister and now I do.” She smiled at the other woman. “I have a feeling you have much to teach me.”

“And who was I, chopped liver?” Gina snorted.

Desi smiled and turned to her best friend. “No, you were my sister first and always. What you did here was awesome. It all seemed to make sense finally. You were always a solver. I am grateful for that skill.”

Gina nodded. “It’s what I do. Just don’t forget me, K?”

Desi snorted. “As if you’d let me forget you.”

“Got that right, girlfriend.” Gina chuckled.

Alfredo smiled at the banter and looked over at Zeus. “I have a feeling this house is going to get wild in a way you never anticipated before, Signore Zeus.”

Zeus snorted. “You might be right about that. What did Desi say? If you get a man that rides, he can roll with the tides. ‘

They all laughed.

Zeus shook his head. “But I’d rather have this than tears. It was a bad couple of years before we even met Barrett. Angel is a happy child now finally and she has a sister in Lily. This is what makes life worth living.”

“Si, it does.” Alfredo nodded as he smiled for the first time today.

“And don’t you worry, old man.” Zeus looked at him. “You’ll still be here right in the thick of things.”

“What does that mean?” Alfredo asked with confusion on his face.

“You kept coming here to make your whiskey, right?” Zeus nodded. “Well, once this is over and we clean up what Barrett ruined we can get started making that whiskey again. Your granddaughters will be here, they are your family. I have a feeling it’ll be worth it all.”

Alfredo sat there thinking. “You would let me stay here? To make the whiskey again?”

“Why not? If it’s something you enjoy, I’m not going to stop you. You can even sell it if you like. Just save a bottle or two for us and we’re good.”

Alfredo smiled. “I can do that.” He turned to Delaney and smiled. “Did you hear that my dear? Raggetti whiskey will get a new life.”

“I know Grandpa, I heard. This is something you’ve wanted for a long time now.” Delaney smiled.

“Si it is, but I couldn’t risk your father or your brothers finding out. They would have taken the profit and used it for their own gain. I had to save something for you.”

“You never had to save anything for me, Grandpa. I’m doing alright.” Delaney shook her head.

Alfredo patted her hand. “But now granddaughter, you and Desi will do even better.”

Gina nodded. “Then it’s time to set this right. Write your letter and let the chips fall where they may.”

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