"It took me a year to become a full patch member of the Vagos biker gang." "At this point, I thought the pressure of being undercover might get easier." "But the opposite was true." "The deeper I got into the gang, the more isolated I felt." "It was a constant fear." "My name's Charles Falco and this is my story." "Sometimes I think about what it's like to be a ghost, trapped between worlds." "No way back to the life you left behind." "And no way out of the one you're in now." "But on my bike, I don't think about anything." "I just ride." "Around people?" "Different story." "Three months after becoming a full patch member of the Vagos," "I'm still getting used to the lifestyle." "On my back is a license to do what I want and take what I want, whenever I want it." "It's addictive." "And in this world, my friends call me "brother."" "And brotherhood, that's a powerful feeling." "But it's not like I forgot why I'm here." "As an undercover, the patch gives me a front-row seat to the big things going down with the Vagos." "Darko!" "Stash!" "But sometimes you don't find out about the biggest things until it's too late." "Police officers!" "Get down!" "Move and you are dead!" "Get moving!" "Keep moving!" "Move it!" "Move!" "Move!" "Get down!" "Get down!" "On your knees." "Stop dicking around with those toys." "They're for a charity drive." "Whatever you're looking for, we don't got it." "Something wrong?" "You ever heard of Patch-itis?" "It's when a new gang member starts acting like a dick 'cause he's let the patch go to his head." "Gotta act the part, don't I?" "Oh, you're acting?" "Oh, okay." "You wanna tell me how your new band of brothers got tipped off the raid was coming?" "They what?" "They knew they were getting hit." "No guns." "Nothing." "So what I want to know is, who tipped 'em off?" "What?" "You think it was me?" "What do you take me for, man?" "I don't know." "Criminal back in his element?" "You know, Charlie, sometimes loyalties get mixed up." "Well that's not me, okay?" "And we got a problem." "You got someone in the local PD paid off?" "Excuse me?" "Is there someone in the local PD that's paid off?" "How the hell do I know?" "I don't even know why this raid had to happen." "I thought we were gonna sit on the evidence until I got the hell outta there." "We've been through that." "The boss has insisted." "It was out of my hands." "Well, that's great." "But you know what?" "Darko and Stash, they know what I saw." "They chalked it up to Stash's parole violation." "What if they don't swallow that?" "Do what you're good at, Charlie, make something up." "You're a good liar, Charlie." "You got a recorder for me?" "Here you go." "Are we done?" "If you forget which side you're on, we will be." "Talk to me." "Hardware's safe." "Any charges?" "Nah." "They got nothing." "They took us in overnight." "They said it was a parole violation." "They knew." "They tore the place apart." "Who knew about your little hiding place?" "Kid." "Dawg." "Anybody else?" "All right, everyone listen up." "Any of you ever been on a boat?" "Hm?" "How about a leaky boat?" "Anybody ever bn on a leaky boat?" "You know what happens to a leaky boat?" "They... they go down." "Yes, Stash, they go down." "Just like leaky Vago chapters." "Huh." "Now, under-funded local police departments don't shell out overtime on five a.m. raids unless they know what they're lookin' for." "We got a leak in this chapter." "And we cannot depend on our friends to bail us out, tip us off every time the Feds feel like fisting us." "So the way I see it it's one of two things:" "either one of you has been bragging too much to the wrong people every time he gets wasted..." "What are you looking at me for?" "Or else we got another snitch." "I already told you, he saw where we kept it." "What about it, Quick?" "Yeah, I saw." "So what?" "Difference is I can keep my mouth shut and he can't." "Why don't you come over here and say that?" "I'll cut your throat." "Anytime." "Hey, keep it in the playground, children." "Settle this on your own time." "I dunno..." "What's he ever done for the club, anyway?" "Yeah, what about it, Falco?" "Haven't seen you cap anyone for the club." "Just say the word, Darko." "Oh, you'll know when I do." "Falco is no snitch." "We all know there's guys in this chapter that like yappin'." "Let's all watch our mouths while the heat's on." "We got bigger fish to fry with the Reno run comin' up." "Listen to the man." "All right, this year" "I want you guys to cut out all the crazy stuff." "I'm not sayin' don't have any fun." "I'm sayin' nothin' over the line with the law, all right?" "And not a word about this raid to any other chapter." "I got enough heat coming down from the international president." "All right." "That's it." "But let me be clear about one thing:" "if I find out any one of you has got the wrong loyalties... you're dead." "How much?" "No..." "It's just bigger than I thought." "Look, Reese, man, don't worry." "I got this." "We're up there on the weekend." "I'll have it." "I'll talk to you later." "Cookin' up some business?" "Future considerations." "Anything I should know about?" "Personal." "Personal business is club business." "Club business is my business." "So if there's a deal goin' down, you better not forget to mention it." "In the days after the raid, the gang is more paranoid than ever." "My friendship with Kid is saving my skin." "But I know that working him is the key to winning Schizo's trust." "The one person I don't have to work is Suzanna." "How far did you say it is to Reno?" "Well, it's about seven hours up the 395." "There's no way I'm riding on that thing for seven hours." "Wait." "What, you're not goin'?" "I think I'll see if Stella wants to drive up." "You don't want to wear your girl out before you get there, do you?" "No, I do not." "I figured I'd put the back patio right here." "And that is your view through the front window." "You'll catch the morning sun." "Maybe put in a little swimming pool." "I think I'm gonna like Mexico." "The builder's going to start as soon as I give him the deposit." "Can I have another bump?" "Please?" "Quick!" "Can't we just have a minute to enjoy a beer together?" "Nope." "Charlie!" " You better go." " Sounds urgent." "Somebody probably disrespected someone." "What's up, man?" "I'm coming." "Show me your vacation pictures?" "That's the plan." "Future vacation." "Listen, up in Reno," "I lined up a deal I could use your help on." "What are we talkin' about?" "Buying or selling?" "Buying." "I need a big profit, fast." "So it's a big buy." "How much?" "Cone of silence." "It's purely personal." "All my own money." "Schizo's not in." "Nobody's in." "Just you and me." "Hey." "Hey." "Just give me a sec." "Yeah, yeah." "At this point, Kid's saved my ass more than a few times." "I figure that's gotta be worth something." "Besides, what's one more drug deal in the grand scheme of things?" "Every outlaw motorcycle club has their big annual run, where chapters from all over the States meet to party and talk business." "For the Hell's Angels, that run is Sturgis, South Dakota." "For the Outlaws, it's Daytona." "And for the Vagos, it's Reno." "As a full patch member, this run is mandatory." "And now I ride in the middle of the pack." "You gotta concentrate." "Riding wheel to wheel, full-tilt for hundreds of miles is a potential recipe for disaster." "I got a fresh recorder for the trip." "Maybe it'll fill up before Kid's deal." "Maybe not." "With hundreds of Vagos in one place, chances are I'll bring back enough evidence to make the ATF throw a party of their own." "There ya go, darlin'." "Three nights." "And, uh... there's another hundred for you if you find your way back to my room." "There's no smoking, idiot." " Hey." " Hey, Falco." "Your old lady drove up here, right?" "Yeah." "I need you to go and borrow her car." "What for?" "What do you mean, what for?" "It's club business." "You are a member of this club, right?" "I just got to get that room number first." "You got a room number for Suzanna Johnson?" "Sounds like the boys are here." "Party's over." "Well, maybe not for you." "We'll see." "I thought you were into him." "He can be a little... remote, sometimes." "How so?" "Like, he's just so uptight." "The last few weeks he hasn't been sleeping, like, he's always..." "Hey." "Fresh off the dusty trail." "His ears must be burning." "It looks like you two got the party started." "Well, that is what we're here for, right?" "So what's the plan?" "Look, I need to borrow your car." "Just give me the keys, okay?" "I won't be long." "Hey, hey." "I won't be long." "Have fun." "Always." "Let's go." "Where are we goin'?" "I'll let you know." "You guys gonna tell me what's going on?" "Looks like we found our snitch." "So you found the snitch?" "Turns out he's right here." "A guy we called brother." "Is he from our chapter?" "Mmm-hmm." "Take the next right." "So you guys going to tell me who you're talkin' about?" "I don't know." "Darko, Falco here deserve to know?" "Name's Hammer." " About a year back," " Hammer's a solid brother." "Good buddy of Schizo's too... till he got busted for assault." "Hammer must have done something to piss Schizo off..." "That must really hurt." "...'cause instead of bailing him out," "Schizo lets him go down." "Well, your brothers left you hanging like that." "Hammer's pissed about it." "But that's not the only problem with him." "Hammer had some kind of abscessed tooth." "The way I heard it, the whole thing exploded in his mouth." "Oh, I'm sorry..." "Maybe we can help you with that." "The cops make him an offer..." "Foot the bill to fix it." "The dickweed flips over a toothache." "What kind of scumbag rats on his own brothers?" "So this happened a couple of years ago?" "Give or take." "Well, if it happened that long ago, then how come we only just got raided?" "You know how cops work with snitches." "They bank up information, use it later." "Some brother from another chapter said he knew where Hammer was livin'." "Second I heard the name, it clicked." "So you clear this with Schizo?" "What do you care?" "I'm Sergeant at Arms, I can do what I want." "Yeah." "It's club business, see?" "So we're taking care of it." "Just stop up there." "Stay here." "Keep it running." "Is that what I think it is?" "Yeah." "A grenade?" "Hammer is gonna be ham-burger." "I want to call Koz." "Come on, come on..." "But I can't get cell phone reception out here." "Besides, what would I tell him?" "That I'm driving getaway for a grenade hit in a trailer park?" "Hello?" "Joe?" "I think them kids is back." "Wrong trailer!" "He's got a gun!" " Woo!" "Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" "What'd you pull the pin for?" "Uh, 'cause that's why we went there?" "You never heard of Plan B?" "What's your problem, man?" "If pussy-face here hadn't screamed like a princess, we would have been able to throw it in." "Get out!" "What?" "Do you know what you nearly did?" "You almost killed a woman and her baby." "The guy with the gun... was that Hammer?" "I dunno." "You don't know?" "You make me drive you to kill a snitch, and when it's the wrong guy, you, you throw a grenade?" "What is wrong with you morons?" "It's called taking care of business." "How is taking care of business killing the wrong people?" "It's a bad move pulling the pin." "What?" "I didn't wanna get juked by the guy!" "Why'd you have to waste a grenade, huh?" "We could have blown that guy's balls off before he even started firing!" "And how come you care who we kill, huh?" "Unless it's 'cause you're a cop!" "Call me a cop again, and I will kill you." "You moron." "Gah!" "Get up." "Right, listen to me." "We're all in this." "Nobody, and I mean nobody, says anything about this to Schizo, you got that?" "Or anybody else!" "You got that, Falco?" "Yeah, whose side are you on, Falco?" "Shut up!" "Falco?" "Yeah, I got it." "Every year on the Reno run, the Vagos hold their annual mega-church meet." "Chapter Presidents, VPs, key players from all over the world are here." "Some of these guys have traveled from Vago chapters as far away as Mexico, Europe, and even Australia." "All they want to talk about is which gang is being targeted next in their endless turf war." "Hey, it's Falco, right?" "Yeah, hey." "Green?" "Yeah." "You got patched." " Oh, yeah." " Falco loves his patch." "But we ain't sure if he's got the stomach for war." "Well, are you in it to win it or not, bro?" "Yeah, man, I'm in it to win it." "Take a joke, bro!" "Hey, I'm going to go and check on my Pan Head." "I'll see you later." "This is where I get my first glimpse of the most important Vago of all... the international president, Felix." "Felix checks in with all the chapter presidents, and Schizo's no exception." "I try to get close, but he likes to keep his distance from the grunts." "So there I am with a dead battery, and this cop is saying to me, he says, you know, you can give it a jump start just by coasting it down the hill." "So the dickweed goes around back and gives me a push!" "Good story." "But you know what?" "I've been hearing some interesting stories about your chapter." "Yeah?" "Nothing you wanna tell me about?" "It's all good." "Too much stupid's bad for business." "Yeah." "For example, that raid on your sergeant-at-arms' house." "That, that raid..." "That was harassment." "They got nothing." "Yeah, it always helps to have friends in the right places." "It doesn't help to have a snitch, either, does it?" "We're solid." "There's no snitch." "You better be right." "I hear more about this, I might call for a change in leadership." "Now you can go." "The botched hit on Hammer leaves me shaken." "I feel like I'm close to breaking." "The next day, something finally snaps." "Oh boo-hoo, yeah, that's all I need is another woman spending my money!" "You were the one who wanted to come to Reno!" "Well, you don't have to keep busting my balls about it!" "Why don't you take your friend and go do a little bit of shopping, all right?" "Bitch!" "You with the ass!" "Give me a beer!" "Oh, oh, uh, uh, I'm sorry, did I offend you?" "You have a problem here?" "I can't hear you." "You're muttering, you're muttering!" "Come on, come on, speak up!" "Speak up, Mr. Middle American Dad!" "Come on!" "Oh, mute papa." "Oh sorry, go on, go on, go on, go on." "Roar!" "Hey, why don't you leave your boy with us?" "We'll teach him how to be a man!" "Where is my beer?" "Dammit!" "Ah, eat one!" "Ah, come on." "I suddenly feel like I'm suffocating." "I gotta breathe." "I need air." "I don't want to think." "But I can't stop." "I want to tell that family I'm a good guy." "But am I... really?" "Am I just a good guy playing a bad guy?" "Or a bad guy playing a good guy?" "Your old lady giving' you grief?" "Yeah, Stella's bustin' my balls," "I got my ex's lawyer on my ass for arrears payments," "I got mortgage, I got the IRS!" "Money and women, no escape." "Yeah." "No escape." "I got a question for you." "You trust Falco?" "Hell, yeah." "He's working out good." "Is there a problem?" "He walked out on us there." "What was that about?" "Maybe the food didn't agree with him." "Yeah, maybe it was the burritos." "Party later!" "Later!" "Reese?" "Thought you were out partying." "I was waiting for you." "Where were you, Charlie?" "Out." "Out?" "I don't know if this one-word answer thing works for me, Charlie." "How come every time I get in, you're wasted?" "Well, maybe I get bored waiting for you." "So your problem's my fault, huh?" "What are you, my guidance counselor?" "Come on." "I know where this leads, okay?" "I know you know." "You love lecturing on it." "You should charge a speaking fee, really." "Can we just go to the damn party?" "Quick?" "Hey, you got your pants on?" "What's goin' on?" "Change of plan." "We gotta go." "What a surprise." "Just give me a minute." "He'll make it up to you." "He's one of the good ones, you know." "I don't know." "I don't think I know anything about him." "Come on, we gotta go!" "You okay, man?" "You seem kind of keyed up." "I'm good." "Did you raise the money?" "Yeah." "Everything I could lay my hands on." "I'm gonna build my new place and buy me and Red some years in Mexico." "Give that sweet girl a second chance." "To sweet girls and second chances." "Yeah, man." "Schizo." "Lookin' for Stella." "Is she here?" "No." "I thought she was with you." "Are you having your own private little party here?" "Where's Charlie?" "Took off somewhere with Kid." "Business or whatever." "Business." "You know, Stella always said that you'd never get with one of the boys." "I guess Charlie changed all that, huh?" "Or maybe you just secretly like bikers." "Oh, yeah?" "You like the bad boys, don't you?" "Yeah..." "When you were staying at our place," "I, I thought here's a girl who's just waiting for permission to do bad things with bad people... but she's not ready." "But I look at you now, and I think... oh yeah, oh, you're ready." "Hey, I don't think Charlie would be too happy about that." "Charlie..." "doesn't have to know." "So how long you known this guy for?" "Reese?" "Yeah." "A bunch of deals." "Mostly meth." "Nothing quite this big though." "Know how he brings in his coke?" "On doors he imports from Peru." "What, like hollow doors?" "No, no, that's too obvious." "He takes cocaine sulfate liquid." "And spray it on the doors, like a lacquer." "Then at this end, they take cheese graters, scrape it off, put it in an acid bath, and render it into cocaine hydrochloride." "With cheese graters?" "Yeah." "Come on." "Yeah." "Probably puts 10 million a year into play like that." "So is this Reese guy expecting me?" "Yeah, don't worry, he's cool." "Speak of the devil." "Kid, thanks for comin' in early." "Reese, this is Charlie." "Charlie, Reese." "Are we doing shots before business?" "No, my friend." "This is the business." "What are you, a bootlegger now?" "No, smart guy." "You're looking at the wave of the future." "Liquid methamphetamine." "Over five grand in that one little bottle." "Okay, how do I sell it?" "This is just for distribution." "You get pulled over carrying 100 K of crystal, you're done." "Yeah." "Get pulled over carrying a couple bottles of tequila gold, you're in the clear." "So what do you do?" "You render it back to crystal on the other end?" "If you want to." "The cool kids are spreading it on paper." "You can do it in tabs, or you can inject it." "Either way, it's way more potent." "Wow, that is genius, man." "Yeah." "Can you show me some cash?" "Yeah." "I got half a dozen bottles in the car." "Come on." "Yeah." "Ah!" "I thought we were gonna try it." "Here's the thing, Kid." "I'm really sorry about this, but I don't have a choice." "This territory's in new hands." "You're dead!" "Kid!" "Kid!" "Oh my God." "Augh!" "Some people say ghosts are spirits trapped between this life and the next." "Or just memories etched into the walls like a tape recorder." "I can't go back to the life I left behind." "There's no way out of the one I'm in now." "And in this dark place... there's no sleep." "Hey, what's goin' on?" "You were supposed to check in after Reno." "Yeah." "Anything big?" "Yeah, it's all on the recorder." "All of it?" "Everything you need." "Okay." "So..." "you still with us, Charlie?" "Yeah." "You meet me tomorrow at noon." "I got a funeral I gotta go to tomorrow." "I'll call you after." "Who were you talking to?" "Can't tell you." "I'm sorry." "It's okay, Charlie." "But he was the closest thing I had to a friend." "And his loss left a gaping hole at the centre of the gang." "A hole someone's gotta fill." "Hey, guys." "Hey." "A few days later, we all gather at Schizo's place for a wake." "Wow." "Mmm-hmm." "Schizo does live like a CEO." "Seems like all the money made by this gang just stays at the top." "Thanks, pal." "What'd you think of the funeral?" "You know, if Kid hadn't been pushed into crystal, he'd be here, with us, right now." "Well, we're all gonna get what's comin' to us in the end." "Ain't that right, Quicko?" "You thought about who steps up in Kid's place?" "I've been thinking about it." "Some of us here have done quite a lot for this club." "Don't think I don't know that." "Hey, Quick!" "You want to tell me again exactly what you and Kid were doing before he crashed?" "He went after the guys that robbed us and he lost it on the corner." "Why didn't I know about this deal?" "I don't know, I thought it was club business." "Anybody else know about this?" "No." "Let's keep it that way." "All right." "Hey, you want another beer?" "Yeah." "Excuse me." "Hey." "You seriously think that Darko is cut out for VP?" "No." "No, but it's a good idea to keep him close, right?" "It seems to me that you gotta be concerned with what's best for the chapter long-term, Prez." "What are you doing?" "Skitz asked me to get something for him." "They want you outside." "Kid was one of the good guys." "He was a true Vago." "And we all know that he's irreplaceable." "But now that he's gone, somebody's gonna have to move up." "Someone with enough experience to take over his business." "To tell the truth, right now I don't think anybody's ready to make that step." "So in the meantime, I'm promoting Falco here." "You're making Falco VP?" "Not VP, that's got to be earned." "I'm gonna make him joint Sergeant at Arms with you." "You want me to work with him?" "Are you Vagos?" "I trusted Kid." "So until one of you shows me who I can trust, that's the way it's gonna be." "I'd taken a step closer to the heart of the gang." "But I paid a heavy price." "I lost a friend, and the trust of my girlfriend." "And now I've made an enemy." "And the deeper I go into this brotherhood, the more alone I become."