The Liability

Chapter 3

Hugo's POV:
The car ride felt like ages. I kept glancing in my rear view mirror to catch a glimpse of her. I still don't even know her name. I don't know what the fuck I'm doing.

This wasn't the plan.
Not even close.
But I have to follow through

I don't know how to treat her, do I treat her with hospitality but remain demanding?
This is an actual hostage, she was the daughter of our enemy, but also a person. Sure I can be heartless and even terrifying, but I also have empathy, because I too am the child of a powerful person.

I keep my focus back on the road blocking out all sounds in the car. It's only a matter of time before we get what we want after he realizes his daughter is missing.

Then suddenly it dawns on me, treating her like a typical hostage would be unnecessary. We don't even know what she actually knows about all this, and if she knew very little, there was no point of employing the typical tactics, because she wouldn't be able to answer. It's also possible she isn't like her father.

Much like I'm not like my father, and never will be.
I need to give the benefit of the doubt, because I sure as shit would want it too if my future were dependent on how my father was.

My eyes continue to scan the road. As I pull to a stop at of a four way stoplight marking the end of the street, I check my rear view once more.

This time something else catches my attention, and it's something behind her.

That's when I realize we were being trailed.

Shit. I curse under my breath.

Scanning for more for details on the people trailing us, I don't catch the typical indicators that suggest they are affiliated with the Reapers.

I shift in my seat uncomfortably trying to signal Terrance of the dilemma without actually having to say. The men tailing will know if we notice them if we don't manage to elude them. If we do elude them, this gives us the upper hand.

Checking the stop light once more, I confirm it's still on red.

Terrance catches on and looks in the mirror sticking out of our car closest to him and identifies the threat. In two seconds following this, a loud noise erupts, and it's the revving of an engine sounding nearby, causing everyone to look up even the men trailing us.

Well, I'll be damned.

As the vehicle responsible for this noise approaches, I recognize the familiar face driving it and roll down my window to peer out the tinted glass. And by old friend I am referring to old as in from before all this shit took over my life.

"Antonio!!!" I say shocked.

He flashes me a quick smile.
I laugh recalling high school, when he needed braces for the longest time. He hated how long he had them on for. But, he also knew it was needed, because his teeth were not a united front in certain areas. Seeing him smile now without them, I can't help but acknowledge how braces truly work wonders.

He leans in and levels with me, propping his hand on the car by the window, to quickly and quietly to inform me on a proposition. I recognize the posture and look he has, because I've seen it many times. This look suggests he wants in, and him whispering it confirms this.

Before he officially asks, he first offers to help with the nimrods tailing us. His plan was rock solid and a guarantee for us to slip away under their radar.

He explains how he has been in a motorcycle gang since we last met face to face, and he and the crew he belonged to would create a diversion at our four-way stoplight, making it perfect for me to escape under the radar. And this would require me running a red light. I don't have issues running a red, but heavily patrolled areas are becoming more common, and being pulled over, even if we have the police as allies, isn't a sure thing. Not all cops are quite aware of this working relationship, and by the point they are informed, enough shit could have gone down to set us back.

So, I am somewhat cautious with this.

And it is necessary, it will lose the assholes tailing us, and slow them down, leaving them surrounded by a gang of motorcyclists, and giving us enough time to move out of sight.

In the meantime, Antonio says he will attach a discrete, and nearly invisible tracker in an inconspicuous part of the car. This tracker will help us see where they report back to and give us the location for Rico to assess, and Terrance to take over. Essentially, this plan not only allows us to escape, but we will also have the intel needed to raid their location and interrogate them. It is crucial that we figure out who they take orders from.

"Sounds like a well thought out plan Toni, I appreciate the backup." I say earnestly.

"I try" he says cockily.

He knew about my plan to break into, and takeover our rivals, or the Reapers, leaders' house only moments ago. I give him brief and non compromising updates on the Reapers occasionally, because this was something we had a shared interest on. This interest being that he wanted the Reapers gone just as much as us; so it's really not surprising he was in the area to see how our plan went. And in honesty, I was grateful that he was.

"Think over my request too, I'd be an invaluable official ally to the team mate" he says with a curt nod.

Ah, there's that Australian accent and dialect coming through again.

"I will get back to you. We will need to meet to discuss this further." I say seriously.

But before we end our discussion to enact the plan, I make sure to ask one last thing.

"Does this mean we have the Black Jacks as an ally too?" I question him. Being allies with a motorcycle gang could be incredibly beneficial, and if possible, ground breaking.

He tells me he is in the process of convincing them, before riding off, he extends a fist for our signature fist bump that we developed as kids. It was a symbolic exchange between two lifelong friends.

It's refreshing to see the face that reminds me of the life I once had, not that he had that life anymore either. Plus it's not like we didn't keep in contact, because as I mentioned, we did. But, it was in person, or the face-to-face contact that was extraordinarily limited.

I worry about getting him mixed up in this, no matter how much we could use his help, or how willing he is to put his life on the line, this life is a different ball game than a biker gang. I don't know if I can let him throw the feeling of security away for this. I need to think things through later, because biker gangs are united and have different rules and honors than my gang. My gang was a mafia, and loyalties change frequently. Trust isn't set upon by rules like with a biker gang, instead, for us, the mafia, it's far more complicated in more aspects.

While these organizations are different, they are also the same in ways. And it is possible to become allies without drastically changing their dynamics for the worse.

But in the meantime I need to keep focused, with my eyes on the road.