The Men In Leather
Chapter 06 - The Men In Leather
By noon, news vans had reached the parking lot.
Someone had uploaded a clip showing Mack rise beside Walter while Lucas held the transfer papers. The caption claimed a biker gang had seized a diner from a corporate attorney.
The truth was less convenient.
The Backroad Saints included:
Elena Ruiz, an electronics technician and former Air Force communications specialist.
Boone Hayes, a diesel mechanic.
Calvin Price, a pediatric nurse.
Mara Keene, a retired judge.
Three veterans.
Two teachers.
One accountant.
And Mack, who owned the repair shop across the highway.
Their leather made better headlines than their professions.
Raymond Sterling’s publicist used that.
He released a statement describing Walter as a confused elderly man influenced by an intimidating motorcycle organization. Lucas was presented as the loving son trying to protect his father.
Mack read the statement aloud.
Walter laughed once.
“Apparently I’ve been kidnapped into my own kitchen.”
Still, the accusation mattered.
Sheriff Brooks advised the Saints to avoid blocking entrances or appearing armed. Every member complied. They parked motorcycles in legal spaces, removed no one, and served coffee to reporters who behaved politely.
The diner became calmer than the cameras outside.
Lucas received seventeen calls from Sterling executives and answered none.
Then Raymond called Walter directly.
The speakerphone sat on the counter.
“Mr. Finch,” Raymond said, “these people cannot protect you forever.”
Walter glanced at Mack.
“I fed them breakfast. Protection was their idea.”
Raymond offered to pay the medical debt, increase the purchase price, and guarantee Walter a private apartment.
Walter asked one question.
“Why did your company use the date I was declared dead?”
Silence.
Raymond ended the call.
Elena preserved the recording.
Mara filed an emergency motion freezing the property transfer. Sheriff Brooks requested a warrant for the bank-box access records. The accountant from the Saints began tracing Sterling’s payments.
The men and women in leather did not threaten violence.
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They did something Raymond feared more.
They created witnesses faster than he could isolate them.
