Chapter 67

Ken had never been to Knife's place before. It turned out to be a rather small house with two large dogs and one very large garage. He followed behind Gary, all of them driving at a rather sedate pace to ensure there weren't any problems with the police. Amanda turned out to be a somewhat round, motherly type woman who Ken would not have picked as a biker. She tsked over the various cuts and bruises and took Roger into a bedroom to do a quick examination, pronouncing him fine a short while later.

"Of course, he's bruised to hell," she said, clearly not happy with his condition, "and should have a concussion. At least, it looks like he might have been hit hard enough to have one, but he's not showing any signs of one. Let him rest until tomorrow though. C'mon Jimmy, you're next."

"That was fucked up," Gary was saying as Ken walked up to him and Knife.

"Yeah," said Knife. "We're gonna have to deal with them soon."

"I'd like to be there for that," said Ken. "After all, they've already tried to come after us twice."

"No shit?" asked Knife. "When did this happen?"

"Over the last few weeks," said Ken. "I don't want to go into a lot of detail, but apparently one of them decided it would be fun to try and grab Tina while she was out on a date."

"And?"

Ken shrugged.

"We've made sure no one goes out alone, and Tina, Cindy and Ari always have someone with them -- even if they don't know it. This was a case of Tina not knowing it. But I can't have my family being threatened like this. They need to back off."

"They ain't gonna be doin' that any time soon," said Knife. "Although after tonight, maybe the heat'll be off you guys for a while."

"Still," said Ken, "I'd like to come along for the ride when you go explain things to them. I'm pretty sure Eric would as well."

"You mean Thor?" asked Knife with a grin. "That guy'd put a scare into anyone. I'll have to talk to the rest of the club. This is club business, after all. But seein' how they decided to come after you as well, I'm sure it won't be a problem. By now the other clubs know what the deal is between you an' the Tankers so they probably won't say shit. Who else you got besides Thor?"

"You know he doesn't like you callin' him that," said Ken with a grin.

Knife was a big boy, but Eric was even bigger. Eric, however, was generally an easy going person, which made Knife want to push his buttons. He hadn't forgotten the incident with the anvil and the pillar holding it up.

"He'll get over it," smiled Knife.

"There probably won't be anyone other than Eric and I," said Ken.

"And Jane," added Gary. "If you don't tell Jane, she's gonna get grumpy."

There was that. Jane was a slave, but when she was testy she could make life more than a little uncomfortable. Being confined to the mansion was evidence of that. On the other hand, Ken didn't want her shooting anyone, which, considering her new hobbies, was a distinct possibility.

"We'll have to see about that," he said.

"Hey, I'm not the guy who's gonna have to share a bed with her after he doesn't invite her along for the fun," said Gary.

"Dunno if bringin' her is a good idea," said Knife. "I know she can take care of herself, but it's gonna be a bad scene."

"We'll probably play it by ear," said Ken. "In the mean time, I'm going to take off. Unless you need anything else?"

"Naa," said Knife. Then he clasped Ken's hand and pulled the surprised man in for a rough hug. "Thanks for the help, man. Things might have been rough without you."

"Always happy to help," smiled Ken.

"You need anything, you let me know," said Knife.

"You too," said Ken. "Gary? What do you want me to tell Annette?"

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'll call her."

With that, Ken took left to head home. They'd been lucky, he knew. No one had been carrying -- well, no one who'd been willing to use their piece. Otherwise things could have gone very bad. Maybe having Jane pretending to be a bush when they went up against the Tankers wouldn't be a bad thing.

The following day, Sensei wanted a detailed account, as they all sat around waiting for the Costas to arrive.

"Damn," said Jane. "I always miss all the action."

The rest of the Circle had heard about the fight the previous night and Jane's attitude had been much the same then.

Ken smiled. Ari, however, wasn't amused.

"Jane, what's wrong with you?" she asked. "The last time something like this happened, you got really hurt!"

Jane shook her head and reached out for Ari, pulling her into a hug.

"I'm fine," she said. "But sweetie, these things happen. I'll be careful, but we can't hide from everyone who's trying to hurt us. You know that."

Ari, like Jane, knew exactly what had happened to the men who'd come to attack the mansion because Ken had told them. He'd also told them about the aborted attack on Tina. No one else knew about any of that, but tomorrow, that would change. Everyone needed to know the full score because the Tankers weren't going to stop.

"Look, we'll discuss this tomorrow," said Ken. "Tonight I don't want the Costas getting wind of this."

Everyone nodded as Ken looked at the group.

"Also, please try not to seduce anyone," he said. "Angelo would be ... upset if his wife had sex with someone and he wasn't included..."

"An upset Costa would be bad," agreed Sensei.

" ... and the boy's too young."

"How old is he?" asked Tina.

"Twelve," said Ken.

"I was..." started Tina.

"I don't care what you were doing when you were his age," said Ken. "He's off limits and I'm not kidding about that."

"What about Camilla?" asked Jane.

"Just be careful," sighed Ken.

Jane had told him about the encounter with Camilla she'd had. Camilla was ripe for the picking, but he really didn't want the Circle to be the ones to do it. At least, not right now. Still, Jane had said Camilla had potential to be Circle, so he wasn't sure how that would work out.

"I plan to take her upstairs and test her," said Sensei. "Providing initial observations are favorable."

"Oh?" asked Ken. "And what will said testing consist of?"

"Some physical movements, at the very least," he said. "I'm only doing this as a favor to you and if I do not think I can train her to my standards, then I won't take her as a student. Even if she is suitable, it is likely you will be doing most of her training anyway."

Ken nodded. Sensei had made it clear that he considered Ken's 'white belt' days were coming to an end. That was fine with him, but he wasn't sure if him being the one to train Costa's daughter was a good plan or not.

It was clear the meeting was over, and people were getting ready to leave the room. Ken shook his head, wondering how it was that what should be a simple dinner engagement needed a battle plan. Regardless, it was critical everyone was on the same page for this.

"Oh, and please make sure you're all wearing clothing," he said just before his wives left the room.

Jane and Ari looked at him, all innocence and Sally laughed. Ken shook his head again, and flopped back into his chair.

"They will make mischief tonight," said Sensei. "You know that."

"Oh yeah."

People who could afford the services of the Barrow group were not poor. Costa took that as a given. Still, he was more than a little surprised by the size of the house, no mansion, that Ken lived in. Current market prices would put this thing in the tens of millions. How Ken had managed to buy something like this was beyond him -- unless he had more money than he'd claimed. In Costa's experience, most people were more than happy to flaunt their wealth. Unless they were extremely wealthy, in which case they were a lot more circumspect. Perhaps it was time to have his people do a bit more digging into the Whitestone's financials.

Angelo Costa was a cautious man who didn't make friends easily. Much of that had to do with the various illegal enterprises he was involved in. Some of it was that men of power often isolated themselves a bit to keep away the hangers on. But some of it was just the fact that Costa liked to have more cards in his hand than people could see. He wanted to be not one, but many moves ahead of his opponents -- and even those few he called friend. Why he'd been drawn to Ken was a mystery to him. There was just something about the guy he liked.

And he wasn't the only one. For the first time, his wife was interested in the possibility of sleeping with another man. Most people thought she didn't because of him, and that was partly true. After all, it wouldn't do to have the boss's wife sleeping around. But the real truth was that she'd never shown any interest in any male other than him. The subject had come up the night before.

"You actually want to have sex with him?" Angelo had asked, surprised.

They'd just finished an intense bout of sex and were about to go to sleep.

"He's ... I don't know. Interesting," she'd said with a shrug. "You'd sleep with Jane, wouldn't you?"

"Yes," said Angelo. "But that's different."

She laughed.

"You are such a guy some times."

"You know what I mean," said Angelo with a grin. "I don't have sex with women you don't approve of, and it gives me an outlet for some of my more..."

"Kinky?"

"Well..."

"Sadistic?"

"Antonia!" he said with an exasperated smile.

She grinned and kissed him, moving her hands down his powerful body to the sticky cock that had just been inside her.

"I'm just teasing," she said. "I'm not into being submissive and I don't like pain. Or at least I don't like receiving it."

"Ken and I have a lot in common," warned Angelo. "He plays rough -- or so Elaine says."

"Well I wouldn't be interested in that," replied Antonia. "But he might like straight sex."

"And if he does?"

She shrugged.

"I'm not going to push the issue," she said, serious. "I'd never do anything to risk losing you. Certainly not over sex -- which you provide in abundance. I love you too much for that."

"But if the opportunity were to arise?"

Again she shrugged.

"I don't know," she replied. "Perhaps if you were there ... helping..."

"Oh ho!" laughed Costa. "So my wife wants two men to please her, does she?"

Antonia grinned.

"It's a thought."

Now the two of them and their daughter looked at the mansion as they got out of the car.

"This is not what I expected," said Antonia.

"Me neither," replied her husband. "I wonder what other surprises are in store for us." Then he turned Camilla and said, "I expect you to be on your best behavior tonight."

His daughter, who had no idea why she'd been dragged along, nodded.

"Okay Dad."

Her voice had an edge to it. She still hadn't forgiven him for grounding her last time, although she knew that spying on her father was wrong. But it went farther than that. He was smothering her and she was getting tired of it.

"I still don't see why I had to come," she said. "Joey got to stay home."

"Camilla," said her mother, her voice sharp. "Please. Just behave yourself tonight."

Camilla hadn't been told about the possibility of meeting Scott Turcotte tonight because Ken hadn't assured Angelo Scott would come. Angelo didn't want to disappoint his daughter.

Ken and Jane met them at the door. Ken had stressed that things were very informal at his house, so Costa had worn slacks and a polo shirt. His wife, while dressing casually, was still wearing high heels and looked extremely sexy. He saw that Ken and Jane had done the same. Ken was in black jeans and a polo while Jane was in a very short dress and high heels. Of course, she still wore her collar and when Costa hugged her, he realized that the only things she had on was what he could see. Her firm breasts pressed into him and he felt a strong rush of desire for her.

Costa was a man of intense appetites, but one didn't get to where he was by indulging in them too often or at inappropriate times. Controlling himself was second nature.

"Before we show you around," said Ken, "you should meet the rest of the household."

"You have staff?" asked Costa, thinking that he'd completely misjudged Ken.

The man frowned for a second as if he didn't understand the question. Then he smiled.

"Oh. Staff," he said. "No. There's no staff as such. These are just people who live here. We're sort of an ... extended family."

Ken led them into the living room where some of the Circle was waiting. Arianwen, Tina, Cindy, Bill, Genie, Eric, Sally and Joan were there. As was Sensei Turcotte. Ken had decided to limit the number of people Costa would see tonight, even though it wasn't by very much. He wouldn't have included Cindy and Tina if Costa hadn't been bringing Camilla along.

They entered the room and Ken watched a quick look of surprise cross Costa's face. He made it disappear fast enough, but it returned when he saw Sensei sitting there. Ken made introductions all around.

"Sensei Turcotte," smiled Costa, "it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Mr. Costa," returned Sensei. "I have heard much about you."

"Your student does you credit," said Angelo. Then, glancing at Jane, "Students, I should say."

"Your complement is most gracious," said Scott. He shook Antonia's hand, then Camilla's. Ken thought that he looked at Camilla and held her hand just a little bit longer than he had her parents. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

They all talked for a few minutes, before Ken motioned Costa over.

"Anyway," said Ken, "I just wanted you to meet everyone. Most of them will be joining us for dinner."

"Most?"

"Sometimes Bill and Genie forget to eat," smiled Ken. "Shall we take a walk around? If you'd like, I can ask the girls to show Camilla around."

"Camilla?" asked Costa turning to his daughter.

"Sure," she said with a half smile.

Ken could tell the girl was a bit overwhelmed. Not necessarily by all the people, but by how she was reacting to them. She was attributing that to the presence of Sensei Turcotte, who she was desperate to speak to, but Ken knew that she was reacting to so many of Lea's followers being in one place. He suspected that Kiera would react much the same way when she finally came to visit.

Ken, Jane and Ari took the Costas around, showing them the pool, library, study, lounge, kitchens and other rooms. When he mentioned the studio, Costa was eager to see it, but Antonia begged off.

"Very impressive," said Angelo, walking into the room.

He didn't step onto the mats and stayed out of the marked sparing areas, but the swords on the wall caught his eye. Mostly, they were just bokkens, but there were several metal swords, as well as bo staffs and other weapons gracing the wall. He ignored the other weapons, but closely examined the swords.

"Very nice blades," he said. "May I?"

"Be my guest," said Ken.

The swords were plain and looked new. They were quite sharp as well, but they were not original katana. There were several of those down in the vault, but Ken wasn't about to remove them from down there. These were very expensive, completely functional replicas that he trained with. Costa held the weapon as if he were familiar with it, but it was immediately clear that he didn't have any extensive training beyond perhaps a few moves.