Ransom X

  Chapter 23 Biker Bar

  Wagner would never have guessed how many biker hangouts there were in the greater Bismarck area. At around 3 AM, with the winds blowing granules too small to be called snow, particulate ice was a better description; she stumbled up to The Potter’s Wheel. A hippy biker that had established itself as a “drink and dive” in the seventies. It had become popular because during the cold winters, a customer could drink himself silly then crash in one of the upstairs rooms without ever leaving comfort of climate control.

  Wagner strutted up to the bar. The room greeted her with a series of whistles and hoots. A wood-burning fireplace cast a reddish glow over the packed long wooden benches. There were only three tables in the place, but they went wall to wall. A no smoking sign hung on the stovepipe that fed the warm exhaust up through the rafters. Carved beside the sign was the word “weed.” Wagner did a tactical scan of the place and made a decision. She did a playful spin approaching the bar. This was a role-play that she would have never tried before meeting Legacy. Even though she was in no mood for the attention she played into it, leaning forward on the bar, and calling over the bartender.

  “What can I get for you little miss?” The bartender was a stout tattooed teen whose shaved head and stubbly beard looked like a mushroom cap sprouting from his shoulders.

  Wagner said in a tipsy-loud voice that she’d learned from her father “Three shots of tequila,” putting up four fingers and fanning them in his face. She noticed his nametag, “Jake.” Lingering on the K, a smile came to her lips “and some - information.” Her tone dropped on that last word. Eavesdroppers lost the conversation thread but everyone in the place watched.

  The bartender looked around nervously, Wagner pinched one of his chubby cheeks and continued her balancing act in front of the crowd. “I know that if any of these roughnecks hears you talking to a police officer, you won’t just have a pierced nose-” Wagner drew her finger around the curve of his throat and tickled his ear. “You’ll have a pierced neck so lets keep this part of the conversation private, give me the drinks and lean in or I flash a badge and take you outside.”

  They were the center of the room, and the center of the entire biker nation for a moment.

  Jake put two beefy arms on the bar and settled in to talk to her. A few of the patrons cheered, thinking it was his lucky day.

  “I want to know about some recent traffic, not local.” Wagner said.

  “Nothing’s local, nobody lives in this shit hole – don’t jerk me around because you’ve got a badge-” Jake replied.

  Wagner broke out into a hysterical laugh. She spun on the barstool and waved her hands excitedly like whatever he’d said was the best joke she’d ever heard. Confusion painted Jake’s face until her elbow came down full force on the nerve in the center of his wrist. That same wrist would tingle for another week. Jake gave a muffled grunt.

  “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Wagner announced her apology while pinning the other arm to the bar with her forearm. Her next breath got to the point - “Want me to go for the eye sockets next, Jake?”

  Jake couldn’t move his arm. He was face to face with Wagner and had no leverage to resist. “We’ve had about ten new faces this week.” He stammered, “My whole arm is burning.”

  “That’s good, did any of them have female baggage? The kind that can’t walk?” Wagner watched his eyes.

  “A rider carried his bitch up to their room. He said that she was drunk, but she was doped.” He winced.

  “Blonde?” Jake nodded, teeth grinding “When did they arrive?”

  “Two days ago.” Wagner did some calculations, that timetable put her in this bar less than a day after the initiation.

  Wagner smelled blood in the water. “How does a biker arrive with a doped up wife?”

  “He drove up in an old Econoline van, but he was a biker, only bikers find this place –” he replied.

  “And me.” Wagner reminded him.

  “My lucky day. Can I have my arms back?” Jake’s cigarette was burning close to the skin between his index and middle finger. Wagner released her grip, and let him stand upright. She didn’t see the quick hand signal he made to the room, and Wagner was too intent to notice how quickly the place began to clear out behind her, only because of what Jake said next. “Your guy hasn’t checked out yet, he’s still here.”