A Flicker of Redemption

Chapter 2

She was very thankful the rain had passed during the night instead of while she was walking. As she walked, she stuck her thumb out for a ride. An hour after she left the motel, someone pulled over to give her a lift. He was only going to Stockton he said but she told him that was fine. The ride was silent and she was glad for the air conditioning. He dropped her off in the middle of town before turning to head to his destination. Taking her bag, she began walking once more to wherever she was going. It was a long walk and she stopped several times to rest. It was already dark when she saw a "Welcome to Charming" sign. 'What a cute name for a town.' she thought as she trudged on.

Her stomach had been making noises for a while so she decided to duck into a diner she came across before finding some sort of shelter for the night. The waitress gave her a warm smile before leading her to a booth. Angelika set her bag next to her as the over-head bell rang. Four guys walked in all wearing some sort of leather vests. It made her curious about them as they just sat down where they wanted. Her waitress came over to take her order so she gave it and began looking around again. There was a bald, heavily tattooed man with the group whose eye she caught. She quickly looked away. These men were dangerous and she didn't need any more problems.

Happy sat there staring at the blond sitting all alone. He'd never seen her in town before and wondered if she were new to town or just passing through. He hoped she was new to town. Their waitress came over to take their orders taking his mind of the beautiful blond. Jax, Tig, and Chibs began chatting of the Nords and the problems they were having with them. It irritated Jax to no end that they were trying to sell meth in Charming after being repeatedly told they weren't allowed. He hated being disrespected.

Her food was finally brought so she dug in, savoring her meal. It was the first meal she'd had that day. She didn't have much money left and her bill would just about take all that she had left. There would be no sleeping in a hotel that night. She'd have to find some sort of shelter for herself making her sigh. It was rough sleeping outside but it was something she was used to. Once her meal was gone, she sat in the booth every so often glancing over to the intense looking bald man and slowly sipping the rest of her soda. She told her waitress she was going to the bathroom and she'd be right back. She took her bag with her, untrusting anyone, and headed to the ladies room.

When she returned, she asked for her check. The waitress glanced over at the Sons' table and said her bill had already been paid. It confused her as to who would have paid her tab for her. No one was ever nice unless they wanted something from you. It was a hard lesson she'd learned. Not wanting to cause a scene as she looked around, eyes finally landing on the bald man, she stood up with her bag. He looked over at her and gave a slight head nod. 'So it was him who paid, huh.' she thought as she nodded back. The bikers started standing up so they could head back to the clubhouse. She left the diner and began making her way to the road to find some shelter.

After a little walking around, she found an abandoned building and carefully entered it. She found the cleanest spot she could and threw her duffle down. She used it as a pillow at night when she couldn't get a motel. With a heavy sigh she laid down on the ground and moved around to get comfortable. The sun shining through a broken window roused her from her not-so-great sleep. She stretched, popping her back, stood up and dusted herself off. Today she'd have to stick around town to do some panhandling. Money was needed for food and sometimes shelter. She tried not to pick-pocket if she didn't have to. Walking back into town, she opted to sit outside the diner she'd had dinner at the previous evening.

She had a baseball cap she sometimes wore that she used when panhandling. Setting her bag next to her, she got settled and hoped for a good turn-out. She really hoped the people of Charming were generous people. Some other places she'd been in hadn't been and it caused her to resort to pick-pocketing. Having someone voluntarily give you money was better than stealing it in her book. If she had to steal it to survive then so be it. A few people dropped some money in her ball cap as they came into the diner. She always thanked them. Around noon, a tall dark haired woman with blond hi-lights stood before sizing her up.

"Drugs or alcohol?"

"Excuse me?" Angelika asked as she looked up at the woman glaring at her.

"You using this money for drugs or alcohol?" She demanded.

"I use neither. I need money so I can continue on down the road." Angelika replied.

"Uh huh." The woman looked over at her bag, "That all you own."

"Yep."

"Wouldn't you rather have actual employment than begging?" The woman inquired.

"Not sure anyone would hire a vagrant like me." Angelika replied with a shrug.

"I see." Gemma stated as she dropped a ten dollar bill into the hat.

Angelika thanked her like she did everyone else. Gemma walked into the diner to place her order. Thinking back to the young woman outside, she decided she'd give the girl an opportunity. Once she had her lunch order, she walked out to her car to set the bags down. Angelika watched as she walked back over. The pair stared at one another briefly. Angelika didn't know what was going on but she didn't trust this woman. Clearly, the woman hadn't trusted her when she first walked up going by the conversation they'd had. Someone dropped a bill into her hat making her thank them as they walked inside.

"Think you can handle filing paperwork and answering phones and stuff like that?" Gemma suddenly asked.

Angelika shrugged, "I guess. Why?"

"Come on. It's not good to be out here begging. Hale finds out he'll be on your ass and most likely take you to jail. You don't need him up your ass." Gemma stated, "I'm Gemma by the way."

"Angelika." She replied as she grabbed the strap to her bag.

The drive to where they were going was short. Gemma grabbed the bags and walked over to the clubhouse leaving Angelika to stand by her car and look around. Seems she'd stumbled across a biker club of some sort. She'd run into some bikers on her travels and they were always bad news. It made her uneasy being there. Gemma finally walked back over and told her to follow. Angelika did as she was asked and followed into a small office. She threw her bag onto the couch that was there as Gemma began explaining how she ran things.

Gemma explained how she ran the office, how to file all the paperwork, how to answer the phones, and where all the keys were to the vehicles that were being worked on. Angelika just nodded as she tried to remember what she'd been told. She kept glancing out into the parking lot wondering about the bikers. Gemma noticed and told her "the boys" were harmless and for her to just focus on her tasks. Angelika got to filing the paperwork she was handed and tried to put the bikers at the back of her mind. The last time she'd dealt with bikers it had gotten pretty rough. She wanted to shudder at the thought of them.

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