Chapter 6: The Enemy Among Us
The first thing I heard was the sound of every lock in the clubhouse clicking shut.
One after another.
Front door.
Back door.
Garage entrance.
Even the small side window near the kitchen.
Thirty-two bikers moved like a single machine.
No shouting.
No panic.
Just instinct.
Because every one of us had survived long enough to understand one terrifying truth.
The most dangerous enemy wasn't always the one standing in front of you.
Sometimes it was the person standing beside you.
Wizard stood near the table, still holding the phone.
His face looked older than I remembered.
Not because of time.
Because of secrets.
Tom stared at him.
"Tell me who called.""
Wizard looked around the room.
At every face.
At every brother.
Then he said quietly:
"I can't.""
Nobody liked that answer.
Especially not Tom.
"You disappear for months. We bury you. A little girl shows up with your name attached to a nightmare. Then someone tells us the person who killed you is inside this building.""
Tom stepped closer.
"And your answer is you can't tell us?""
Wizard didn't move.
"Because if I say the name out loud, they know I know.""
The room went silent.
I looked toward the windows.
Outside, the parking lot was empty.
Too empty.
"How did they get in?"" Jake asked.
Wizard looked at the floor.
"They didn't.""
Everyone looked confused.
Then Wizard said:
"They were already here before I arrived.""
The words hit harder than any weapon.
Tom slowly turned around.
His eyes moved across the room.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody needed to.
Every person started wondering the same thing.
Who?
Who could it be?
A knock suddenly came from the office door.
Everyone froze.
The office door.
The one nobody used.
The one connected to the old storage room.
Tom raised his hand.
Nobody moved.
The knock came again.
Three slow taps.
Emma grabbed Wizard's arm.
"That's the sound.""
Wizard looked down.
"What sound?""
"The sound they made before they took Mommy.""
My blood went cold.
Tom whispered:
"Who is behind that door?""
Wizard didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward it.
"Don't.""
Tom grabbed his shoulder.
Wizard looked at him.
"I need to know.""
"No.""
Tom's voice hardened.
"Not alone.""
He motioned toward me and three others.
We surrounded the door.
Tom reached for the handle.
Then stopped.
"Everyone ready?""
Nobody answered.
We didn't need to.
The door opened.
Slowly.
The room behind it was dark.
Empty.
At first.
Then the motion sensor light flickered on.
And we saw something sitting on the floor.
A small box.
Nothing else.
Tom picked it up carefully.
There was a name written across the top.
Wizard.
He looked at the box.
Then at Wizard.
"What is this?""
Wizard's expression changed.
"I've never seen it before.""
That scared me more than anything.
Because Wizard was the one person who always knew what was happening.
Inside the box was a flash drive.
A photograph.
And a handwritten note.
Tom unfolded the note.
His eyes moved across the words.
Then he stopped.
"What?""
I stepped closer.
Tom handed me the paper.
The handwriting wasn't Wizard's.
It was someone else's.
The note said:
"You were looking in the wrong place.""
Underneath were five more words.
"Your brother wasn't the target.""
I looked at Wizard.
He looked just as confused.
Then Emma spoke.
"The target was me.""
Everyone turned.
The little girl stood there trembling.
Wizard immediately walked to her.
"Emma, what are you talking about?""
She looked at the photograph inside the box.
Then whispered:
"That's the man Mommy was afraid of.""
Tom grabbed the picture.
It showed a group of people.
The same group from the earlier photograph.
But now there was one person circled in red.
A person standing behind Wizard.
A person none of us recognized.
Except Emma.
"Who is that?"" I asked.
She didn't answer.
Her face had gone pale.
Finally, she whispered:
"That's the man who told my mommy to run.""
Wizard looked at the photograph.
Then suddenly stepped backward.
Because he recognized something.
Not the face.
The ring.
The man in the picture wore a silver ring with a black stone.
Wizard touched his own hand.
Like he remembered something painful.
"What?"" Tom asked.
Wizard looked at us.
"That ring belonged to my father.""
Nobody moved.
The room became completely silent.
Because Wizard's father had been missing for twenty years.
And now his symbol had appeared in the middle of everything.
Before anyone could speak, every light in the clubhouse shut off.
Again.
This time, there was no accident.
A voice came through the security speakers.
Calm.
Almost friendly.
"Wizard.""
Everyone looked up.
The voice continued.
"You always were stubborn.""
Wizard's face changed.
He knew that voice.
"Who is this?""
A soft laugh answered.
"You really don't remember?""
The speakers crackled.
Then:
"I was there the night your father disappeared.""
Wizard went completely still.
Tom whispered:
"Who is it?""
Wizard looked toward the ceiling.
His voice barely came out.
"My father's best friend.""
The speaker laughed.
May you like
"And now I'm going to finish what I started.""
Then the garage door exploded inward.
