"Hey, if the drugs are coming through then we held up our end of the deal! We want our fucking money Jojo, you understand me!?"

Speaking into the phone was Lin Tro, who was usually calm and serene, but right now, he was anything but. A drug deal had gone down and it was supposed to go to this unknown Philly Crew, but before that could even happen, the drugs had to come in through LA, Via, the Angels of Death MC. Who was always happy to lend a helping hand, for money, of course, to which they never saw a fucking dime. Now, they were talking to one of the Shotcallers. Only this dick wanted to keep Lin occupied, almost like they didn't have the money...

"Oh, I am hearing ya alright! Only we know that only three crews knew where this was going down, how do we know that you guys didn't make off with the cash and drugs? Huh, probably trying to extort us for more..."

He would have laughed at how stupid that sounded, but he knew that many people were greedy in this life and perhaps one of them would have talked to the wrong person, the drugs got jacked and so did the money, that 25% was supposed to go to the Fallen Angels who would split it with the A.O.D. Only now Lin knew that there was no money and it was going to be a long while to gather the money, considering the LA Mob Bosses were also meant to get cut in, due to them providing part of the drugs, but also a tax for letting them operate. 

"Jojo, Jury does not fucking know of this yet, so I am telling you, question your guys and try to find the fucking cash, otherwise, I and a dozen patches will roll through your small piece of territory and take it over, is that understood, amigo?"

Lin soon heard the line end and knew that his business partner in this had scrambled, wanting to find out who took their money with such ease. He trusted them, Vice Saints, while a small Latino Gang, had respected Estarossa for employing the Cordelia Brothers of Medellin into his business, so they went through him, hoping to make a little cash. Rubbing a hand over his face, he could not help but call in a Prospect, telling him to get Zaza.

"Understood Prez, I shall get him immediately."

The Prospect immediately went away to find Zaza, while he had leaned back into his brown leather chair, wanting to think about who could have the balls to take the drugs and cash. It was obviously a big-time move, but whoever it was, they were organized and obviously backed by someone. Possibly playing proxy for another player, something that had him on edge. 
 

With a sigh, he picked up the phone and dialed a number, soon enough the phone was picked up by none other than a senior partner in his partnership with other people across Washington. Something that someone like Lin needed right about now, with Jury and the rest of the charters handling business in the Great White North, it fell to him of all people to make sure that he had some of these gangs on a watch. They didn't need to start stepping out now, just when he needed the extra backup. At best, he could call up Peoria and some of the brothers that had remained at Ollie's Clubhouse in Seattle.

"Lin, I never expected to hear from you today, what is it you want?"

With a refreshed release of breath, Lin spoke out, obviously not being happy about appearing weak to his ally, but when one needed help. He would have to gather his resources...

"I need you to look into the Deal between The Vice Saints and Boccino Crew of Philly, make sure your quiet about this Darlin, understood?"

Lin heard a laugh on the other end of the line, obviously, Clover was enjoying this, but she would always look out for him, she was in some ways, special to him, not that she really knew that. He made sure to keep business like that out of this, he would wish to keep it out of the public or from his brother's knowing until he could figure out what was between him and the ally he had in the Special Officer Forces.

"Understood Lin, it'll be done, I'll make sure to find out what I can, I'll call when I have more..."

Lin allowed a sigh to escape when Clover had got to work, he half expected Esta to barge into the office and grill him about the money that was supposed to be coming in, only he got something else and someone who would be ruthless and efficient in helping find out where their money was. 

Standing in front of him was Zaza, one of the few brothers that Lin had. This was a man he would die for if it called for it. Only now, they would have to shed bled in order to find out where the missing money was because someone was playing cat and mouse with the Fallen Angels MC, yet, time was running out and he knew that he was going to be on the chopping block if he didn't find it.

"Well, where do you want me to start!? About how our money is missing, or how the drugs never made it in the hands of the correct people. It's a huge clusterfuck brother, and now, we gotta clean it up."
 

Lin leaned forward, his hands coming together, as his eyebrows furrowed. He was coming up with a plan, something that was obviously regarding the money that was taken, he knew that only one crew could have the balls to pull off something this big, but also take the money and drugs. It was a win-win, but where would they sell the drugs? 

"The situation we are in is one of importance, you are involved because I trust you like a brother and always will. Our club, this thing of ours, has been fucked over."

Lin noticed by the deadpan look that Zaza gave him that he understood that, he let a small smile twitch at his lips, knowing that the situation was oddly humorous, as it had called for it.

"Okay! Don't give me that look, we gotta find the assholes that did this, this means, breaking bones, taking down crews and anyone that gets in our way. Do ya understand?

He leaned back, waiting for the answer that Zaza was going to give him, knowing that he needed the lad to be all in or out because there was only one way to get the money and save face...

When Zaza had felt the cold stare of his President them, he feared for his very life and knew that he should have been very scared. Here was someone that could have easily displaced him, becoming a true monster in front of him. The story that he had heard in his childhood of the Bikers and their ways of being pure dominant beings of unforeseen acts, it was almost like an old folktale, they were almost shrouded in such mystery that no one could ever place a finger on their organization. 

Zaza knew that he was too feel many things about this meeting, but feeling fear was not something that he was used too. He had never known it, even when faced with the greatest of monsters and patches, some of them were revered as monsters clothed in human skin themselves, but only in front of this man. The very man that was rumoured to have warped the mind of the former MC known as the Westies Motorcycle Club, to which, Zaza doubted was true, he knew many things and an MC being manipulated was not one of them. It was Lin's very presence and the other clubs feared that power is in the hands of a no-name MC like theirs at the time, in the hands of a lesser person in their eyes. 
 

That person is the man who would lead them to new heights, someone who was known in many circles as a bastard. Michael Pavanno was not a man who was no one, he was someone that rose above his titles, his shackles even. A man that became the very word, 'leader'. He was never someone that wanted leadership or truly craved it, he simply wanted the best for his people. That is all one could ask for.

"I understand what needs to happen, Lin, it just doesn't mean I have to sit here and like it. I have been a patch for a while, sitting down while the rest of those fucks do something about this, it just doesn't work for me. I want to do this, I want you to trust me with this. I'm ready to assist in the greater good of what we have and what we can build here, brother."

Zaza did not back down as he stared down Lin, his large frame now a few feet away from the man that had been his leader and now brother. 

Lin's lips had twitched up into a little smile as he stared Zaza down, the man was brave and was not abandoning the brotherhood that was giving him so much. It meant a lot to the New York native, his eyes narrowing on the brother-in-arms for the slightest of moments before deciding to slide over a note that probably contained some things regarding the campaign up north.

"Do not be fooled by this brother, that letter contains the mission that our alliance is going on. They're taking down the Mendoza Faction of the Heavenly Host, the Chicago Charters should fall soon. Samael is not proving to be a right bastard, he has given up his seat. Fleeing to Mexico, possibly thinking he might be able to cut a deal with one of the cartels not favoured by the Cordelia's."

Lin whispered softly, his voice was always that way, it was always convincing. It was easier to see how some people had fallen victim to such a man, he had no skill to stop the mind games between so many factions, these government officials, these people, they were monsters before becoming corrupt officials. With the power in them that had been granted via fate, people or murder, they were amplified and often became the most feared people throughout the underworld, it was no wonder why the less corrupt officials had seen fit to try and exterminate them.

"So what do we do here, do we just sit here and allow them to reap from our bleeding corpse as they would have it. We cannot allow this to happen. We have to take the fight to them...wait, are you telling me this is what the drug deal was for? To move some weight for the New York mob that we didn't move before...oh we just have some shitty luck on our side it seems."
 

With that rant done, Zaza slid down into a chair, pouring himself a glass of beer. It seems that Alcohol was never far from the club life, it seemed almost necessary with the amount of shit they dealt with on a daily basis. This is not what they needed right now, to have a deal go wrong and then for the move to then fall off the tracks, it was almost like someone had it out for them. No this had to be someone moving in.

"Have you checked with the usual players? Any new people walking about the streets? We can't have this patrolling our streets, this type of game for us. It's not what we need right now, people are challenging us because he's down, we gotta put the screws to 'em. Make them see that this is still our yard and no one is going to fuck with us right now, we have to lay down the law, let Vegas handle LA, let Chicago handle their problem...we handle Washington, this is our charter, we do it!"

And this is why Lin wanted Zaza along with them, the man was ready to live and thrive but also die for the club. That intensity in his eyes had never been matched by anyone else, he could see it then. Maybe not anyone besides Estarossa but that man was another calibre of loyal. Zaza and he had their own brands, something that a lot of the brothers respected amongst themselves.

"You have the right of it brother, I won't deny you that. Only we need to be sure that we are making the right moves for us right now.  This is the moves that change us as men and brothers to the club. We need to have our heads on straight and we need to be sure that we are delivering justice. This is about the business, this is about reputation and this is about making sure that these fucks know who runs this place!"

Lin slammed his hand down on the table to emphasize his point. His eyes lit up with a fire that was matched by the brother opposite him, they did hear some motorcycles coming from outside. They both rose their eyebrows, looking at one another questioningly. They were not expecting anyone, only it seems someone had arrived and was ready to deliver them something of sorts.

"Let's go see who the fuck this is and what they want with us, I ain't got time to deal with bullshit today brother, you have no idea. I am here to get this business done, see what we can do and then we can sort out this fucking Vice Saints and Bocino Crew problem. One of them fucking shafted us or tried too at the least!"

Stepping out of their clubhouse, Lin and Zaza were greeted by the sight of the Angels of Death, A few of them at the very least, Hayes led the pack and stepped up to Lin, embracing him in a hug. It seems that Hayes had indeed found something, hence the hug. Something that Lin was grateful for, now his other club members, not so much, not everyone was keen on the Angels of Death helping them out on occasion.

"We got some news from Philly and Seattle, it seems that the Path of Blood have decided to move in, backing the Vice Saints. Now why they did this, is unclear. The Cordelia Brothers say that they had no idea, the Russians are pissed, they want their money and I don't know how we are going to pull this off, brother."

Lin rubbed at his chin for a moment, deciding to then and there file that away for now. They had a stockpile of cash, plus some saved up all around the charter clubhouse. If necessary, the MC could pay them with that. It would just be money coming out of their former profit with their former supplier. They weren't using that money right now unless they were doing a run soon. He would have to bring it up once Jury got back from the North or Esta woke up...

"What's the other news brother?"

Hayes seemed to stop himself there, looking around at all of the gathered Fallen Angels as they grew a bit worried at the frown that was seemingly marring his features before he then broke out into a big smile. His smile as wide eyes as his eyes before hugging Lin once again, this time with much more feeling behind it. 

"He's awake..Esta's awake and he's flying over. Right now, he knows that Jury is in the North handling business. He's coming over with the remaining patches, taking his own seat back and he wants to speak with you. He knows that you're one of the few peaceful charters around. Let's make him keep it that way, eh?"

Lin smiled before breaking out into his own smile, his laugh was contagious as the brothers soon followed after him. All of them were happy as if their prayers had been answered, their brother was coming home. He was finally safe, this is all they wanted, this was all they needed and they had known that shit was going to change. Lin turned to face Zaza once more, nodding his head in some kind of signal. 

"I'll get it done, for now, enjoy ourselves....he's coming home for bleeding hell's sake and we're all going to better for it. He's here and does not doubt that he'll want to give the people who supported us their rightful due."

Zaza stated this as he looked towards Hayes, the man too engrossed with his own club to even hear the words that Zaza had stated. The Brothers were happy, they had to be, the saviour was coming home. The King, the one who was the rightful National President, Estarossa.
 

Estarossa Pincheel had never felt so different in his life, the ache of his body, the toll that he had been through. He was sure that he was going to meet his grandparents and spend a life with them, only that was not to be the case. He was going to the bitch of Destiny it seemed, they had wished for him to suffer and so he had...an attack on his people and he had done nothing, an attack on his own person and he would have still done nothing. 

Why was he such a passive man? He believed in so many things, he believed in vengeance for his family, he believed in death for succession. He believed in so many things that could have happened to him, only to know that he had only done things when pushed. He had only done things when it benefited him and never for personal gain, something like that. 

He often found himself being a tool, even when he never needed to be and he often wondered if that was the life that he was meant to live. A tool for his father, a tool for the Upstate Commission and a tool for anyone who saw value in the Pavanno Family name. Maybe he was just cursed to live this type of life, one where he was nothing more than a tool for hire. 

"Brother, we're coming up on the Tacoma Clubhouse. Take a right here!"

And there it was, the reason why he had done this. His brothers had all looked at him like he had known about everything that was going to happen, no he did not. Only they had believed that he was some kind of all-knowing king. He had only learned this because of his father, how to play the game as it were. When Politics and enemies were involved, it seemed a number of things had happened when he had been in a coma.

'The Serachi Family was now involved with our club, along with a couple of friends of him. It seems that he had found an Eve as well. Then there was the Kingsman Company along with their Special Officer Forces, then the so-called resistance fighting against the Mob and Special Officer Forces. Shit had changed in the time that I had been out, I wonder what our has changed...let's see that four ourselves then."
 

When the roar of motorcycles was heard throughout the Tacoma Clubhouse driveway, all of the brothers started clapping once they saw the tell-tale sign of their National President. There he was, unshaven and his hair was long, he needed a shave and a haircut. He looked like one of those old-timer bikers, Givern would have proud, out of everyone, Lin stepped forward first and embraced Estarossa first, glad that his friend was here and seemed to be A-Okay. 

"It's nice to fucking see you brother, shit's happened but we can sort that later. We want to make sure that you're okay, that you are here for this life. We have nothing but respect for your brother, the hospitality of Tacoma is yours, you know that. NOW! Let's get some fuckin' drinks in ya!"
 

And so it began, a welcome back party for their nearly fallen president who seemed to be okay with the idea. Wishing to enjoy himself make sure that he wasn't too all over the place at first. He seemed to be something of a loose cannon, only here he was, relaxing and acting like his club was not engaged in the middle of a war. That took something, almost like he was letting go of some demons, that would be discussed later. 

"Why didn't you tell him about the Vice Saints, the problems we have with the Russians and Samael running out, he would need to know these problems brother-"

"No...he doesn't need to know, look at him now. He seems at peace, like he's on top of the world. He may not know that we as Presidents know this but we all know how much that man is willing to sacrifice. Even his own happiness, that man is something we like to call a giver, no matter the costs. He's a brother, sometimes one of the most dangerous and other times, the most foolish."

Zaza started at Estaross for a moment before shrugging, deciding to head to his bike. He needed to get away for a while, this was a better time. He knew that it could have been seen as insulting, only to those that really knew him, they would know that he just needed to get away and so he did. Turning the engine on and riding away into the night, knowing that a lot of women and possibly booze awaited him wherever he went. 

"It seems I have awoken at quite the moment in time. Our club is being blasted on at all sides, we have new people moving in beside the Path of Blood, then we have Serachi and her ilk. We will talk about you keeping this from me, brother, I needed to be informed. Especially considering how I can see most of you are trying to keep me occupied with drinking, how stupid do you really think I am? This is my club, I deserve...no..no! I have the right to know what is going on, is that understood Lin?"

Estarossa sat opposite Lin at the table outside, all of the patches were either drinking or sitting down with a girl in their laps. They were enjoying themselves and it seemed for the first time in a while. His supposed death had put a downer on things, enough so that the war was raging on in Canada, with the forces of Catalina Rey and FAMC joining together to finally put Mendoza down for good.

Only the wicked never rested, there would be more enemies waiting for them. These ones did not seem intent on leaving them to solidify themselves once again, Estarossa knew it was time to send a message once again. Like he had heard of Peoria doing in the time that he had spent during this party, blood had been spilt and he was glad for it. Thanking the lord that it was not done in his name at the very least. 

"I understand, there is something that has come up, however. We've been cheated in how much we were pushing through LA to Philly, it seems that the LA Mob bosses got the drugs through. Only it gets robbed at the deal and both crews are saying that they had no idea who did it, now I would think that it would be the one with the most to gain from this deal."

Estarossa sighed, this was indeed something of a precarious position, one that he did not hope to find himself in so soon. Yet he felt it and the thrill was there once again, the blood rushed through him and he was ready for it. Now as Lin spoke, he knew who had the most to gain from it. Only with how loyal one crew was, he knew that it would have to be an outside force, someone who had learned of the deal and was looking to make a name for themselves. 

"I would say that it was a new crew, only then that would be a bit too easy. You did say that the Path of Blood has been making their presence known, what if they're trying to distract while they deal with the real idiots who robbed us?"
 

Lin thought about it for a while, it would have been the perfect deal. Have a small-time crew take out a nice little shipment, back them up a little, give them some guns and cash, make it a nice little operation. It was something that seemed like the Path of Blood's style, only why try to get their piece of business? That would turn out messy for them, given the connections that the charters had and then the High Society, it was a mess for them, in both worlds. 

"That's a good plan and I just thought it over but to challenge the Russians and Cordelia, that's some serious balls that we don't even have yet. The style that's not what we have always, we have to make sure that we stay whole throughout. What do you say we should do?"

Estarossa thought about it for a while, knowing that since this had gone down in Philly, it was not likely that they would keep it there. Nope, they would want to be close just in case the FAMC moved. Oh, they would be moving, just not in the way that he had hoped. They would have to be smart, and Estarossa knew exactly what to do with this right about now. 

"Call a table meeting, I want everyone there so we can talk to them about what I have planned, from there, I'll contact the few remaining charters up north that want to do business. We have to lock this shit down now."
 

It had been a while since had sat down in the chair, the power that came with it. Now it had once more rested on his shoulders, only he was not leading a massive number of men to war, no he was leading the Tacoma and brothers that had come here to Washington with him. They needed to cut off this little problem, so it was time to have a meeting with the Path of Blood leader, if he didn't want a full gangland war, he would attend the meeting, otherwise, the Cordelia and Russians would get involved. 

Estarossa was not above getting his own allies involved with the war effort, he had been reached out by the cartels and syndicate to get help with what was growing to impact their own sources of income. Jury would have been able to clear that up with them, they would have assisted and possibly wiped the floor with the Mendoza faction. 

"I'm going to call a sitdown with the Path of Blood, they need to understand what they're treading on here. It doesn't make us look weak, we're making money here for the cartel. We made money numerous times over, so we do it again. The Russians have a few allies all over the fucking place. We have the numbers and guns, the Path of Blood is a minor cartel in Mexico, they're not touching shit of ours again. I'll make that fucking clear."