MC: Brighton (18 page)

“I can get Pres to marry you this weekend. He loves throwing a party,” Danny says. I look around the Diner.

“He just married Jake and Samantha,” I tell him.

He looks at me. “What does she want big?”

Shit. I groan. “A band. She wants a band to dance.”

He smiles. “I knew she was one of them. Fuckin’ strong women always want one thing big. We can get a band.”

“I don’t dance.”

He laughs. “Better fuckin’ learn quick. Your old lady wants a band to dance, you dance. She isn’t asking for anything else, won’t make you wear a tux, won’t make you jump through hoops, all you have to do is dance.” I look at him like he’s nuts mostly because he is. “We all had lessons. We can teach you to dance. You can pick it up in two days. Pres can marry you on Friday.” He’s smiling.

“You’re fuckin betting on when I learn to dance!”

Tiny slides in beside me. “I’m in.” Oh, shit.

“We can’t just decide. Penny has to okay getting married on Friday.” I need a good reason out of this or Tiny will squash my head like a grape.

“You’re only giving him two days to learn how to dance. He’s a geek, he ain’t got moves like Jagger here,” Tiny says, throwing down a hundred.

Fuck! I give him a dirty look. Danny puts the hundred in his pocket and dials his phone. “Penny, you good with getting married on Friday?”

“Oh, fuck.” I put my head in my hands. Tiny beans me with a tampon. Shit, this day is just getting better and better.

“I’ll get Kate on the dress. You just want a band?” He listens, then says bye.

He looks at Tiny. “Just a band, she likes country music. Handle that. We’re going to Security to learn how to dance.” He stands up. Fuckin’ Brothers. He calls Pres on the way to the bikes and sets up Friday, asking me if I want afternoon or night. I just look at him. I want to get on my bike and get the fuck away from the crazy bastards. He tells Pres night and to have the whores gone.

Oh Jesus, that’s all we need. I start my bike and drive away. They’re fuckin’ nuts. Who the fuck is going to teach me to dance? The Brothers? Danny catches up to me and we park side by side. I should have taken the left to get out of town, but the bastards have me tracked.

“We’re meeting Rich and Patches in the old holding cells. Pres said he’ll show after his meeting with Geek and Jess,” he says as we’re walking in. Great, because making a fool out of myself needs an audience of every fuckin’ Brother right up to Pres. Shit. I look back at the door. It’s not that far.

Danny pulls me by my shirt. “It’s easy, Digs. Just relax.” He doesn’t let go of my shirt and texts with one hand.

Rich comes out of Surveillance with a radio. Shit, they are going to teach me. “Patches is on his way,” he says, walking to the basement stairs in front of us.

“Great. Tell me you have the cameras off.”

He looks back. “It’s just dancing, Digs. Every Brother has seen all of us dance. All except you. You were always busy with your computers.”

I wasn’t busy. I never learned how to dance. If he’s not embarrassed to teach me, it can’t be that bad. I start to relax and think this won’t be so bad, but Lyrec and Chet are waiting when we make the doorway into the old holding. Now it’s just a big room. All the cages are used in another area closer to the range. Danny thought pussies hearing the shots would talk more.

Jessie comes in with Brantley. Shit. “Brantley doesn’t know the new line dance,” he says.

“I don’t know any of them,” Lyrec says.

I guess if I’m not the only one it won’t be so bad. Rich connects his iPod to the radio and music starts. Danny lines us all up, and him and Rich do the dance while we try to follow. Brantley gets it right away and shows me, pulling me by the sleeve when he moves. I get it and help Lyrec, mostly by pushing him out of the way when he steps wrong. There’s something to be said about not being the worst at something.

We do the same dance two more times until Danny is happy with how we do. Rich starts another dance that has me lifting my knee and dipping my shoulder. Tiny starts yelling from the side. Shit, now he’s here. “You dip your shoulder, not bend in half.” Lyrec laughs. Danny stands on the side of me and tells me to put my hands in my belt loops and keep them there. I do and try to follow Rich. “It’s better, but that’s a sorry fuckin’ dip still,” Tiny yells. When we start again Danny shows me how to do whatever the fuck they’re talking about. “Finally! Lift your leg higher next time.” I do it one more time and Danny says it’s good. “Still don’t have moves like Jagger, but he’s better than Pewee.” Brantley and Jessie laugh, and I give them dirty looks. They stop and start another dance. This one is harder with slide side steps. After three times I get it.

“I’m never going to remember these steps,” I tell Rich.

He nods. “We’ll practice tomorrow and Thursday. You’ll get it. Tonight when you go home, practice with Penny. That’s how we taught Tess.”

Okay. I guess we could do that. The music changes and Danny stands on the side of me. “Step when I step.” He puts his arms up and I do the same. Jessie is on my other side. We all step and I miss something. Danny stands in front of me and we start again. I get it following him, then Jessie starts counting. I get them all right and count the steps as I go. When I turn I notice Jessie and Danny just standing and watching. I keep going because I’m supposed to be learning and they all know the dance. I stop when the music does. “You have the steps, but you’re stiff as a board. You need to relax and move into the steps. Show him.” Jessie and Rich stand side by side and do the same dance, but they look like they’re gliding not stepping. I follow them and try stepping smoother. “Better. But we need to work on that one,” Danny says from the side.

A fast song comes on and Jessie and Brantley start moving. Shit, there is no way I can do that. Rich laughs. “I’m not teaching him how to grind, Penny can do that,” Danny agrees. Tiny snorts. If he wasn’t so fuckin’ big, I’d hit him upside the head.

Pres comes down with VP. “Don’t teach him that. He needs to learn how to waltz and slow dance,” Pres says, watching the boys, shaking his head.

“Waltz, she’ll want that one, they all do,” VP says.

“He needs a partner to waltz. He isn’t gliding into the next step,” Tiny says. What the fuck, now he’s a dance judge?

Patches comes in and smiles at the boys. “Digs and Lyrec need a partner. You’re just in time, Patch,” Rich says.

“I’m not being the girl, you be his partner.” Patches throws back at him.

Jessie stops and looks at him. “We already taught him three line dances and the steps to waltz. Where the fuck were you?” VP and Danny laugh. Pres shakes his head at Jessie.

Patches’ shoulders sag and he comes over to me. “I’m doing this one fuckin’ time, so get it right.” Shit, I feel like the last kid on the playground. Chet laughs and VP gives him a look.

He puts his hands up and Danny fixes his arms, then mine. I have to hold his hand to do this. “Fuck, this is cute.” He rolls his eyes, making Rich laugh. The music starts and we start. I follow his movements.

“He’s pretty good,” Pres says.

I move with more of a glide and Patches follows. “Movin’ right now. Dominatin’ the floor. Got Patches followin’. We done?” VP says.

“He needs to learn how to slow dance,” Pres says.

They all start fighting over who will teach me that. Fuck, I am the last kid out there. “Penny can teach me.” They stop arguing and Pres nods.

“Let’s see the line dances,” Pres says. Rich starts the music again.

Rich and Jessie start the hard one first. “I don’t know that one,” Pres says and stands behind me. Danny is at his side, telling him the steps. I listen to him and get them all right. Pres wants to do it again, so we do it again. This time VP steps in. We get ten steps in and Pres asks VP, “How the fuck do you know this and I don’t?”

“Watched,” he says and does all the steps. Jessie and Danny are laughing through the whole thing because Pres is watching VP and missing his own steps. Tiny changes the music and we do the easy one. I remember every step and get a cheer from Lyrec. Feeling pretty good about not looking like a fool, I start the next one and Tiny starts yelling. “Watch the dip! Just your shoulder goes down!” Shit.

VP stands on the side of me. “Guy swings a bat at your body you pull one side in.” He turns with his shoulder going down.” I mimic him. He nods. “You’re standin’ straight, guy throws punch from side.” He leans back and his foot comes off the floor. I do that too. He nods and goes back in line with Pres.

“Why didn’t you teach me that way?” Pres says, making us all laugh.

“Gettin’ married too soon to watch him figure it out on his own. You got it, quit bitchin’.” A tampon comes flying toward me. I duck and turn to see where it lands. VP catches it and slides it in Pres’ pocket. No one says a word. “Buy me dinner, I’ll teach you the new one,” VP says, patting his pocket. We all fuckin’ lose it.

Tiny starts the music and we dance. No one yelled at me, so I must have done it right. Rich and Jessie get called to Surveillance. I almost follow, then remember I’m not their OPs control anymore. I liked working the Baxters OP but was glad to be riding with Danny again two days later.

As we’re climbing the stairs, Pres tells us no one claimed the bodies of P1 and P3. The van was stolen and P2 didn’t know shit. Great. He says we have the senator, like that’s something. “There are three in my file,” I tell him.

“Fuckin’ politicians. We need to find out if this is from flesh peddlers or something else. Why would they want financials and how did they find out about Digs?” Pres says, pissed.

“Meetin’ room now!” Fuck, now VP is pissed.

At the door VP puts his thumb down twice and a keypad pops up. He pushes buttons and the door opens. We follow Pres in and sit. VP waits at the door and Bob comes running in. “Cloud’s at Baxters’,” he says as he goes by VP. I watch him close the door. He’s pissed.

Pres holds his hand up. “I got it. It’s a fuckin’ sad day when we can’t talk in front of our Brothers and know we’re safe with that.”

“Right, but you’re not safe.” He looks at us, then back at Pres. “This group you’re safe with. Geek, Cloud, Driscoll, Rich, Patches, Club Kids you’re safe with. Outside the fuckin’ door, not safe.”

Pres nods. “I get it.”

Tiny looks up. “No one knows you know everything. Most Brothers think VP, Rich, and Bob call the Security shots. Geek and Jess are financial. They think you oversee everything and point the direction. They have no clue how deep you’re into everything. Same with Digs. No one knows he’s not on the ranking boards because he was IT and not required. They think you need IT on site with the OPs. He’d be the logical choice.” Pres nods at him.

“People start getting wind of the knowledge you have and we’re running fuckin’ Pres OPs every day. They know about Digs and the satellite or his ability to run OPs and were playing defense not offense,” Bob says.

Pres looks at Danny. “You might as well go too.”

Danny smiles. “What they said.” Pres throws him chin.

VP looks at me. “Cleanup don’t know what happened on the scene. You leavin’ with Penny played to that. Didn’t say shit to the Brothers. Think me and Danny ran it.” I nod. I’m good with that. To me that means Penny is safe. He throws chin.

“So I’ll watch where I am and what I say,” Pres says.

“Baxters goin’ through shit, will hit close. We’ll keep your six.” Pres throws chin, then walks out. No one else moves, so I stay in my seat.

Bob tells someone Pres is on the move. Then VP sits. “You think we have a leak?” Danny says.

“Yeah. Someone high,” VP says. Fuck, this won’t be pretty.

“Have to be someone high to know about the satellite,” Bob says.

“Could be someone at Baxters,” Danny says.

VP looks at him. “Yeah. Keep gettin’ that too.”

I think back. There were only a handful of people at that meeting. Mitch and Kevin did most of the talking, but they had IT with them. From what I remember two were SEALS. Shit, SEALS are some of the craziest people I know. VP laughs and I look over at him. “You’re right.” Shit.

“What are we doing?” Danny asks.

“Nothin’.”

“Pres is under threat and we do nothing?” Tiny growls.

“He’s got HS covering him. He’s got Security with him. He don’t leave the yard without at least one Officer. What the fuck more can we do?” Bob says. Fuck, everyone’s going to be pissed today.

“Find the leak,” Tiny says.

VP stands. “Workin’ on it.”

“We need to cover Digs?” Bob asks.

Danny laughs. “Digs can cover Digs. He’s got tracking, Security at night, Penny’s covered, and all the feeds are working on his house again.” I stand when everyone else does. We have a job soon and I want to get home to slow dance, then get working on the college file again.

At the door VP stops me. “Politicians first. Bigger threat. College is CK for now. Justice’ll have to wait.”

“Got it, VP,” I say, thinking he’s right. I should have looked at the bigger picture.