Iron Scythes

Lockdown

The gunshot still rang in my ears when the whole room exploded into chaos.

Guns came out everywhere. Men shouted and shoved. I pressed my back against the wall as the smell of blood and gunpowder filled the air. My shoes were still sticky from the mess on the floor.

A big guy with a mean face pushed through the crowd. His vest said Leo. He pointed straight at me and yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. "It was her! This b***h is a corporate plant. She came here to kill the president!"

"I did not kill anyone," I shouted back. "I was standing right here when it happened. You all saw it."

Leo stepped closer. His face twisted with anger. "Convenient. You show up sneaking around our land and minutes later the president is dead at your feet. I say we put a bullet in her right now."

Several guys nodded and raised their guns. My heart slammed hard against my ribs.

"Everybody shut the hell up," Jude boomed. He stepped forward with his hands raised. His voice cut through the noise like a knife. "Put the guns down. Now. We are not shooting anyone until we know what happened."

Reid moved beside me. His shoulder bumped mine. "She was with us the whole time Leo. She did not pull the trigger."

Leo sneered. "Of course you would say that. She has been talking nonstop since she got here. She is playing all of you."

I looked Leo dead in the eyes. "I came here for the truth about the dumping. Not to kill anyone. If I wanted him dead I would not have stood right next to him."

"Shut your mouth," Leo snapped. "You are a corporate spy. Sent here to take out our leader and weaken the club."

Jude raised his voice again. "Leo I said enough. I am in charge until we vote. This compound is now on full lockdown. No one in. No one out. We search every person and every vehicle. Nobody leaves until we find the shooter."

Murmurs spread through the room. Some guys looked angry. Others looked scared.

Leo jabbed a finger at me. "And what about her? She stays locked up too right? She is the only stranger here."

"She stays under our watch," Jude said firmly. "She is the only eyewitness. We need her alive to tell us what she saw."

Ezra moved quietly through the crowd. He stayed close to Jude but his eyes scanned every face. "We should move her now before things get worse."

Hands grabbed me from both sides. Reid on my left and Ezra on my right. They pulled me through the pushing crowd toward a hallway. People shouted questions as we moved.

"Did you see the shooter?" one guy yelled at me.

"Was it a setup?" another called out.

"I did not see who fired," I shouted back. "It happened too fast. One second he was talking. The next he was on the floor."

Leo followed us part of the way. "Do not trust her Jude. She is poison. Corporate poison sent to destroy us."

"Get back to the main room Leo," Jude ordered. "Help search the others. That is an order."

Leo cursed but finally turned away. The noise behind us grew louder as more brothers argued and shoved.

Reid kicked open a door at the end of the hall and pushed me inside a small secure room. A metal table and a few chairs filled the space. No windows. One heavy door.

"Sit," Reid said. His voice stayed rough but he kept his hand on my back.

I sat down hard. My legs felt shaky. "You really think I did this?"

Jude closed the door and locked it. "We do not know what to think yet. But you are the only new face here. That makes you a suspect."

Ezra leaned against the table. "Tell us again what you saw. Every detail."

"I already told you," I said. "One moment the president was talking. The next a shot rang out and he dropped. I did not see the shooter. Too much movement."

Reid paced the small room. "Leo is not wrong about one thing. Your timing is too perfect. You show up the same night someone takes out our president."

"You think I planned this?" I asked. "I came for the toxic dumping story. Not to get mixed up in your club war."

Jude stood tall in front of me. Even under pressure he looked in control. "Right now the whole club is losing its mind. I need to keep everyone calm and find the real killer. That means you stay here where we can watch you."

"I am trapped," I said. "I get it. No way out of this compound."

Ezra nodded. "Lockdown means exactly that. Gates closed. Guards everywhere. You are not leaving until this is sorted."

Reid stopped pacing and stared at me. "You still got that fire in your eyes. Most girls would be crying by now."

"I do not cry easy," I told him. "And I did not kill your president. Someone used the chaos to do it while I was standing there."

Jude rubbed his jaw. "We will figure this out. Until then you stay in this room. One of us will be with you at all times."

Ezra checked the door one more time. "We need to get back out there and settle the brothers. Leo is already trying to turn people against her."

"Let him talk," Jude said. "I am still in charge. My word stands. Full lockdown. Find the killer."

Reid gave me one last look. "Do not try anything stupid while we are gone."

The three of them stepped outside. I heard the lock click. For the first time I sat completely alone in the quiet room. My hands shook as I leaned back in the chair.

I reached into my jacket pocket to steady myself and felt something that was not there before. I pulled it out slowly. A blood-stained security badge rested in my palm. I turned it over and my stomach dropped. The logo belonged to a big energy corporation. The same one tied to the land grabs and toxic dumping.

Someone had slipped it on me during all the pushing and shouting. Someone wanted me to have it.

I stared at the badge in shock as the weight of everything hit me at once. I was trapped deep inside the Iron Scythes world with no easy way out.