Burning Bridges

Standing in his top-floor office, watching the city come to life as the sun sets through floor-to-ceiling windows. The last meeting of the day ended twenty minutes ago, he stood and sipped a glass of whiskey to rid himself of the aggravation of dealing with the prima donna idiots of his latest merger. Bridger North contemplates the wisdom of getting her last bar shut down, especially since they all just disappeared. No trace, just moved out overnight, withdrawing from school. Stone even moved the M.C. He had to tell the board that his COO and CSO were taking a sabbatical. It’s been three months, and with the yearly stockholders' meeting coming up soon, he needs to find them. A knock on his office door signals‌ his new assistant. “Come in, Nathan.” Nathan Zachary enters the office to see his new boss standing near the window. He is still feeling out the man’s preferences and the nuances of a job he wouldn’t have if the hiring manager didn’t owe him a favor. At five feet nine, he feels dwarfed by Bridger and has a slight resentment. Bridger is roughly six feet six and has a fighter’s build. Rumor has it that his boss is obsessed with some woman who keeps evading him. How could a man this powerful chase after a single female? Adjusting his wire glasses, he addresses his boss. “Sir, the contracts will be on your desk in the morning. Will there be anything else?” “Actually, yes,” Bridger replies, “I need you to find some people for me. The names are Auralia North and Mason Ayers,” Bridger informs him. “Auralia was last known to own the TapOut bar on the west side. Mason is the head of Helios M.C.; both are major shareholders and board members who must be found before the yearly meeting. They both disappeared three months ago and will, most likely, be in the same area. My last assistant couldn’t find them and is no longer with the company.” The warning is evident. “Mason was military, so you may find some leads there. Auralia is studying for her PhD in Anthropology, so check colleges as well. I cannot stress how important it is that they are found.” Assuming his boss is looking for a runaway wife, Nathan suggests, "Sir, if I may, chasing after a cheating woman and her bad-news lover seems beneath you. I would recommend a divorce and a fresh start. There are plenty of women out there.” His disdain became apparent. “First, my personal life is none of your concern,” Bridger hardens his voice in anger. “Second, she is not my wife, but my baby sister, and he is our best friend. He will follow her anywhere, protecting and keeping her out of trouble. Also, Lia is our chief operating officer, and Mason is our chief security officer; they need to be here for the board meeting.” “My apologies, sir.” Nathan stammers, “I misunderstood the situation.” He exits the office, positive he had just made a very costly mistake. Men like Bridger North do not tolerate very many mistakes. Meanwhile, three hours away in Springfield, Lia and crew are getting ready for the grand opening of Burning Bridges, making sure everything is set for the Tuesday night opening—checks on the lights, sound system, and setting up the bottles behind the bar. “Why are we opening on a Tuesday, again?” Para whines, she is exhausted from getting the bar ready, getting her classes set up, and she fought last night. “Because this is a college town, classes start in a week, and we want the student body to visit at least once before classes start,” Lia informs her for the fifteenth time. “I want to make sure everything is set because I still have to get my classes and books set for the start of semester. We still have the board meeting tomorrow and then, the opening,” she sighs. The rumbles of motorcycles signal the arrival of the rest of her team. After a few minutes, Stone, Pan, Brax, Baron, and Holly enter through the heavy security door. The sound of high heels on wooden floors alerts Lia that Bree is with them. Pan yells out, “Guess who finally passed her bike test?” She does her happy dance. “I can legally race now!” “I don’t understand why she gets her own bike. Shouldn’t she ride b***h like the rest of the old ladies?” Bree asks with her most nasally irritating voice. “And why does Lia have any say over club business?” “HOLLY!!!!” Lia roars, “Control your yappy meal or get her out of here!” While she grabs Para, Vee grabs Pan. “This b***h is banned from my bar!” Holly picks Bree up by her waist and starts walking her out when she starts screaming, “Who are you calling a b***h? You don’t have any say over me; you’re not even an old lady. The club owns this bar.” “Bree, just shut the f**k up!” Holly yells at her. “Or they will ban you from the club and sell your contract!” He is regretting taking on a club girl as a primary. Nothing but trouble, this one. “Everyone here but you have a say in club business because they all own a piece of the club. You have been told that over and over!” “How can a female own any part of a club?” Bree screeches. Vee laughs. “This one is missing a few brain cells. Damn, Holly, you must have really needed to get laid.” As Holly sends Bree back to the clubhouse. In truth, all eight of them had incorporated Helios Innovations after they left Frasier. They incorporated the MC, the bar, a racing team, a gym, and a security company under the new entity to stop Bridger from getting them shut down again. This way, nothing can interfere with any of the plans they have. After graduation, they plan to add a weapons lab and private investigations. It’s not like they were hurting for money, but none of the new profits will come with strings attached. With no public shares, no one can do a hostile takeover either. Holly enters alone. “So, how long until dipshit finds us this time, now that we have settled in one place?” Stone looks at Lia. “It’s time, princess. We need to make the call. Get him to buy us out or let us sell our shares in North Bay. A clean separation.” Lia sighs. “You know that none of this is going to be clean, this is my brother we are talking about. He will make this as petty as possible because, in his ego-driven mind, it’s about betraying him and the family.” Stone looks at Lia. “No, this is about him having all the control. You know that. Everything has always been about him controlling everything around him. He has issues, and this control thing keeps him from seeing that.” Pan enters the conversation. “Lia, from an outsider's point of view, you and your brother tip the hotness scales to an unfair level, but beneath all of that, his personality is so tightly controlled that he is going to snap. Kind of want to see it, kind of don’t, because it will be epic.” She tells her. “I have a ton of letters behind my name already, but from the psychology side, he is in a bad place and has been for a long time. His trigger is getting shorter and shorter. You and Stone separating from him will either make him go nuclear and burn everything or he may surprise us all by actually seeing what needs to be done.” “You made all of us get therapy when we got back from Digarra. That desert f****d us all up. He never went,” Baron adds. “We were a unit, and after we were discharged, he went off the rails with the control s**t. We all love him, but it is time to get out of the blast zone, sweetheart.” Para adds softly, “Lia, we know how hard this is for you. His actions have bordered on abuse for a few years now. You KNOW this. What he did to Tapout was way over the top. He almost landed you and Stone in jail. Brax did get locked up, but his hitting that inspector was kind of therapeutic. I know I wanted to. Good thing we have good lawyers, right, Brax?” “f**k off, Para. I would do it again, no matter how many times you tell me to rein it in,” Brax growls. “I get it!” Lia exclaims, “Where do we want to set up this meeting, and do we all wear our cuts, or do we leave him in the dark about the changes? He used to ride with us, and I believe he is still part of the original charter.” “Not anywhere near here. He can’t trace any of this to us. Too many shell corporations set up to hide us, but if he sees any of our signage, he will know,” Stone states emphatically. “If we make the trip to him, we can set up the Burrows with some of our security team and have them blend. It will be good practice, and we will have back up.” “I have to say, we learned a lot in Sturgis. Taking over a town and working with the locals to eliminate the trash. Epic idea.” Holly quips. “Sheriff Parker said crime rates are already down eighteen percent in the few months we’ve been here. He still thinks the club is a cover, though, do we leave it like that?” “Absolutely,” Vee adds. “From the forensic profiling we did, the club myth is a fear, and honestly, it’s who we are. Just not one-percenters, we actually help people. Speaking of which, who are we sending to the pick-up? Parker wants these dealers in an almost personal way.” “Pick and Axe are going. They have the training and will be fully wired for sound and visuals,” Stone tells her. “Rage, Riot, and a couple of prospects are going as back up.” Seeing Lia so lost in her thoughts, Holly asks, “What’s on your mind, princess?” Lia looks around the table, part of her just wants to keep running and not confront her brother. The other part knows that it is time to make her stand. It’s her last year of school, and all her degrees will be finished. The people around this table have been her lifeline, bled with her, cried with her, and grown into her family. She hardens her emerald green eyes, “Have Greek set the meeting with Bridger. If we call, it will end up a battle of wills.” Deep inside, her heart is breaking, but she won’t let any of them see it. “Make sure he knows to bring his lawyers, and Greek gets the separation papers and stock transfers ready. We still need someone inside and close to him.” “Hill said he fired his secretary and PA, but he already has a new PA. How about we put one of ours as his secretary?” Vee adds. “We could send Tony. He has all those business degrees, and he has been asking about getting his patch.”