Dutch turned to his sergeant-at-arms and four senior road veterans. With simple hand signals honed over decades, the six bikers silently unstrapped heavy iron wrenches and tire irons from their saddlebags, slipping off the roadway to flank through the dense pine ridge above the railway tracks.
Beneath the shadows of the concrete bridge pillars, five armed operatives from a predatory loan shark outfit stood waiting beside two idling black trucks, chuckling as they anticipated the sound of screeching tires.
They never heard the boots coming from the tree line.
Dropping down from the steep embankment, Dutch and his men ambushed the ambushers with overwhelming force, disarming the crew and pinning them to the pavement before a single weapon could be raised.
Chapter IV: The Law Arrives
Dutch pulled out his phone, contacting the State Highway Patrol commander on a direct emergency line.