❥ KNOX'S POV

When they arrive at the basement, Knox greets the members that are already there and then he takes his seat. For several minutes, people continue filing in one by one. The last to arrive, sporting mismatched clothes and disheveled hair, is Alvin. He closes the door behind him and runs to take his seat.

Knox flashes him a mischievous smirk. "Didn't get to finish round three with whats-her-face?" he jokes.

"Fuck off. At least I'm not out walking around with blue balls." Alvin laughs. A few others make a face but remain quiet. "Yeah, everyone here knows you're attracted to your new twink roommate. You've never been the 'waiting for marriage' type, so it baffles the hell out of me to see you playing the gentleman role. Never knew you had it in you, buddy."

Knox scowls. "You motherfucker—"

"Let's settle down, fellas." Gavin knocks a fist on the table, gathering everyone's attention. "I called this meeting because Mason, our talented little magician, managed to crack the code and get into The Jackals USB drive. The information he found should guarantee that we will come out victorious in this war, but at the same time, that'll depend on how we handle things moving forward. I'm eager to hear everyone's suggestions." Gavin takes his seat to give Mason the floor. "Tell us what you've discovered, brother."

"Thanks, Pres." Mason nods, then stands to give his report. He wraps it up by repeating the proposals he mentioned earlier to Knox. "The supplier responsible for the weapons shipment tonight goes by the name of Oz in the streets, but his government name is Rodrigo Gonzalez. He lives in Barton County and took over the Westside Riders seven years ago. Apparently, when it comes to getting military-grade weapons, he's the guy you go to."

"Hold on a damn minute. So you want us to steal from a man who has access to military-grade weapons... all to piss off The Jackals?" Finn asks, raising a brow. "Hacking aside, you're kinda fucking stupid, Mase. We don't have the time or resources to pick a fight with this Oz guy and his crew."  

"Basically what I said," Knox interjects.

"Okay, I get it. That was a dumb suggestion," Mason mutters. "But we should at least try to make some sort of deal with the guy because let's face it—based off everything I've read on that USB, The Jackals have more connections than we do. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't already begun reaching out to them for help in eliminating us. But if we take away all those connections, which essentially destroys their primary source of income, they'll have nothing left to lean on. They'll be defenseless. Easy to kill off."

"To be clear," Alvin says. "What exactly are you proposing here?"

"We need to steal their clientele if we want to get the upper hand in this war. It's something they won't see coming," Mason says. "I told you guys they abandoned their old clubhouse not long after the Shaun incident, so it's not like we can drive by and shoot their shit up, end of story. And the phone numbers that I found on the USB, which are supposed to belong to Russell's inner circle, are no longer in service. I can't get the drop on where any of them could be hiding. We're practically sitting ducks waiting for them to make another move. This isn't what we do. We don't wait on the enemy."

"Mason is right," Gavin declares, scratching at his beard with one hand and thrumming his fingers on top of the table with the other. "With Russell and his crew deep in hiding, we're essentially waiting for them to pop out and pick us off one by one. I refuse to let that happen." He looks at Mason and asks, "Think you can dig up Oz's phone number for me? I want to start with him."

Mason nods. "Already done. I'll text it to you now."

"Hold on," Knox interrupts, his confused expression mirroring everyone else's at the table. "Where are you going with this? And what do you want from Oz? We don't know shit about him, his people, or how deep their relationship goes with The Jackals."

"All the more reason for me to set up a meeting with him and introduce myself," Gavin says. "I'm going to text Oz and let him know that I'm aware of his deal with The Jackals. I'll see if he wants to make a new deal with us instead. And without going into too much detail, I'm going to let him know that The Jackals are on our shit list, so they won't be around for much longer. Oz will need to find himself a new replacement, which I'll suggest is The Fallen Angels. If it comes to the point where he wants us to prove our worth, we'll already have that part covered."

"How?" Alvin asks.

"By following through on Mason's plan," Gavin answers. "We're going to intercept tonight's shipment, hold the weapons for ourselves, and kill whatever Jackals get in our way. It'll prove to Oz that he put his trust in the wrong gang. Ultimately, this will end one of two ways: he gets pissed and threatens to retaliate, or he dumps The Jackals and we become partners."

"Shit, man. I don't know about this," Finn mumbles, mostly to himself. "This sounds like it's going to be a big fucking gamble on our part."

"A risk I'm willing to take," Gavin says, looking around the room. "If anyone else has a better idea on how we can end this war with minimal casualties while being unable to locate our enemy, then by all means, speak up."

No one does.

"Right, so we proceed with my idea." Gavin pauses to check the new text from Mason. He adds Oz's number to his phone and types out a quick message to the man, putting his plan in motion. "If no one has anything more to add, you're dismissed."

"We shouldn't kill all Jackals that we come across tonight," Knox speaks. "We should bring one of them back here, torture them for information on where Russell may have fled to. He'll probably have some of his best men working the dock tonight, and one of them will have to know where the fuck he is. So I say we watch them from a distance for a while before running in guns blazing. After determining who the leader of the group is, then we finish everyone else off. We snap a few pictures of the weapons, send them to Oz for proof if he asks, and then I deal with the Jackal we captured."

Gavin looks around the table for input, collecting nods from the remaining members. "No disrespect, but part of me worries that kid may have softened you up a bit. If we capture a Jackal and bring him back here for questioning, I don't need Knox to take the lead. I'll need The Beast."

The muscles in Knox's face tense, his hands balling into fists on his lap. No one, not even Gavin before now, has ever questioned his character. He'll be damned if he lets that happen now.

"That won't be a problem," Knox grumbles.

"Good." Gavin pauses again to type out another message on his phone. "Looks like I've piqued Oz's interest. He says he's heard of us before, and that he's never had a problem with The Jackals. He's curious to see how The Fallen Angels move against them, whether or not we can truly hold our own."

"Well, let's fucking show him!" Alvin slams a hand down on the table, eliciting cheers throughout the room. "How many men are you thinking about sending off tonight? I'm always down to ride."

"I haven't decided yet," Gavin says. "But The Jackals have no idea we're coming, so I doubt Russell has sent out his entire crew. We'll follow Knox's plan, figure out the Jackal in charge, and then we go from there." He glances at Knox for confirmation. "Sound all right with you, brother?"

Knox nods, his demons howling in agreement. "Ready when you are."