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“That’s the plan,” I confirmed.
She reached for my hand. “And let them say no, Seb. Robin won’t take kindly to you arriving with a decision already made.”
“I won’t call Dutch unless they’re willing to hear him out.”
After Wren left, I texted Robin. Can I talk to you and the others? Just the five of you. No Wren.
Tomorrow morning, he wrote back.
They were waiting around the boathouse table when I arrived. I sat opposite them. Robin nodded for me to start.
“I’ve got an idea for the waterfront contract,” I said. “It solves a problem for me, too. Dutch has a problem with a patched member living permanently outside Venom territory. If my idea works, I’d keep my cut and stay here with Wren and Sparrow. That’s my end game.”
They all watched me but didn’t interrupt.
“The contract is worth having, but Moff’s right: you can’t cover three more sites with five men. You shouldn’t sign it on the promise that somebody will turn up later.
“Here’s my proposal. Venom Riders MC, Kettlewell Cold Bay chapter. You five patch in as founding members. JW stays JW, with Robin running it. Venom’s back office takes on the client calls, contracts and scheduling none of you want. I’d ask Dutch to send trained men up here while you recruit locally. I can cover the feeds with Moff. You don’t take the job until the rota works on paper and in this room.”
Then I shut up.
Nick’s pen went still. Robin looked down the table at his men, and I kept my mouth shut.
Moff went first. “We spent a year keeping Wren’s location from Venom,” he said. “And now you want us to join up?”
“Yes.”
“You see the problem?”
“I do. I’d have questions too.”
Moff didn’t say anything to that.
“There’s Dutch to consider, too,” I continued. “He lives four hours south, and he’d have authority over this chapter. If that’s a no, say it and I’ll never raise this again.”
“Why patch at all?” Moff asked. “We could subcontract the extra people.”
“You could. If all you want is enough people for this contract, subcontract them. A chapter is for what comes after: your own recruits, trained to your standards, and a say in the work Venom brings north. You’d have to decide whether that’s worth wearing the patch.”
“What’s actually in it for us?” Dion said. “Genuinely. Because we’re fine.”
“You’re fine if you turn the offer down. You can keep doing exactly what you do now. But you’ve been offered work you want, and the only way to take it without stretching yourselves thin is more people and a back office that doesn’t pull Robin off the floor or Moff off the cameras.”
“Who handles the customer?” Robin asked.
“Your name stays on the contract. Venom can handle the invoices, insurance and routine calls. You’d still make the decisions about the work. Handful would talk you through what our teams can take on before anybody signs a thing.”
“And Venom takes a cut?”
“You take a cut of Venom’s protection work, which is growing. Venom has turned down northern jobs for eighteen months because it has nobody up here. You solve that.”
“And JW’s expertise,” Robin said slowly.
“JW does close protection at a standard I haven’t seen anywhere else. Venom is building that side of the business from scratch. Handful’s good, and he’d be the first to admit he’d have learned faster with training from any of you.”
“Autonomy,” Robin stated.
I nodded. “A chapter runs itself. You elect your officers, choose your contracts and set your standards. Dutch has authority over anything that affects Venom’s name or another chapter. The whole club votes on decisions that affect everybody.”
