Chapter 5 - Cold Steel and Covenants
The metallic click of the pistol's safety disengaging sounded deafeningly loud inside the wooden barn.
Maeve gasped, instinctively lunging forward to grab Jax's arm, but the older biker didn't flinch an inch.
"Put the piece away before you make a mistake you can't walk back from," Jax said, his voice entirely devoid of fear, steeped only in a heavy, weary anger.
"You think pulling a gun in a room full of outlaws with nothing left to lose is good for your health?"
Cole and the other bikers fanned out wider, their heavy boots crunching against the gravelly floor as they completely surrounded the suit, cutting off any retreat toward the SUV.
The man in the charcoal suit glanced nervously at the ring of leather-clad men closing in, his finger remaining tight on the trigger.
"Step back!" the suit barked, his corporate composure finally cracking under real pressure.
"This is a federal matter! I have armed backup half a mile down the road!"
"Then you better hope they drive faster than lead flies," Cole snarled, pulling a heavy iron wrench from his back pocket and weighing it casually in his hand.
Jax raised a hand, stopping Cole just short of an attack.
"Hold your fire," Jax ordered, keeping his eyes locked on the trembling barrel of the gun.
He turned his head slightly toward Maeve.
"Kid, open the third drawer of that metal cabinet by the window."
Maeve hesitated for a fraction of a second, her heart hammering against her ribs, before running across the concrete floor.
She yanked the heavy metal drawer open, disturbing a nest of old spark plugs and oily rags.
Inside sat a weathered, lockable metal box bearing an old Army-issue insignia.
"Bring it here," Jax instructed calmly.
She hauled the heavy box back to the center of the room, setting it down right at Jax's feet.
Jax knelt down, punching a four-digit combination into the mechanical dial with practiced ease.
The latch popped open with a sharp snap.
Instead of a weapon, Jax pulled out a thick stack of yellowed legal documents and tossed them at the suit's polished leather shoes.
"Read 'em and weep, corporate," Jax said coldly.
"Twenty-five years ago, Arthur and I signed a joint-ownership patent agreement before Apex even had a roof over its head. That contract states that if either partner dies, full rights revert unconditionally to the survivor."
The suit stared down at the papers scattered across the dusty floor, his face draining of all color.
"That... that company was liquidated in bankruptcy court," the man stammered, abandoning his polished cadence.
"Those rights were voided by federal judges."
"Federal judges never saw the original rider clause filed in county probate," Jax replied, standing up to his full height and towering over the suit.
"Arthur didn't steal anything from you yesterday. He was reclaiming what you corporate rats tried to steal from us back in ninety-five."
The suit slowly lowered the pistol, realizing the legal ground beneath his feet had completely vanished.
He backed up toward the sliding door, his eyes darting between Jax and the closing circle of bikers.
"This isn't over," the man hissed, scrambling backward into the gravel.
"You can't build that engine without our proprietary microchips. You'll just have a very expensive paperweight."
He dove into the SUV, slammed the door, and spun the tires in a shower of dirt and gravel, rocketing down the access road into the gathering dusk.
Maeve let out a long, shaky breath, sinking down onto the fender of the vintage blue motorcycle.
"He's right, Jax," she whispered, looking up through tear-filled eyes.
"The fuel-injection system needs a computerized control module. Dad spent his last savings trying to source one on the black market, but he never found it."
Jax looked down at the notebook in his hand, a ghost of a smile touching his weathered lips.
"Your old man was brilliant, Maeve, but he always lacked imagination," Jax said, walking over to the workbench and picking up an old soldering iron.
"We aren't going to buy a computer chip. We're going to build a mechanical carburetor that outperforms every digital injection system on the market."
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Before Maeve could respond, the distant, unmistakable roar of multiple motorcycle engines echoed from the main highway, heading straight toward the farm.
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