Contagious violence

Bikies Wanted. Attractive salary. Must dislike work, must like wall-to-wall money, fast cars, hot women, a degree of freedom... and a 24-hour-a-day, 360-degree peripheral view to see where the next bullet is coming from. Make sure your kids are out of the way too."

Absurd? No, actually. "Absurd" is when you're talking about something far removed from reality. It has to be asked: why would you wish such a life on yourself....? On your family....?

The mother of Anthony and Peter Zervas knows all about it. Anthony is dead, Peter's body is riddled with bullets, and poor Mrs Zervas is left to make a public plea to stop the violence. Will her sons listen? Will their friends?

Anthony was bludgeoned to death at Sydney Airport when the Comancheros and Hells Angels went at it in front of sickened and stunned travellers. Children, that day, got to see a man's head caved in, got to see other men attack each other with knives, scissors, bollards, and anything else they could get their hands on.

How do mum and dad explain that one? How do mum and dad retain their own composure in the face of such barbarity? And do the men involved even care about the devastation they leave behind, or is it just about who won the fight?

You can bet Hells Angels won't care what poor Mrs Zervas has to say. Sure, they'll offer her comfort, some kind words, maybe even financial assistance.

But will they really CARE for her, for what she truly wants? They've suffered two, humiliating defeats. Just as the bikie world, and police, were waiting for their response to Anthony's death, Peter was attacked. How Hells Angels must be burning right now, so desperate to restore their fearsome reputation, to save face not only amongst themselves, but among a bikie fraternity that preys on any perception of weakness.

So, Hells Angels will respond. And then what? Is anybody actually keeping score here?

At what point does everyone decide they're even and call it a day?

But, more to the point, against WHOM do they respond?

The Comancheros will wear most of the burden. After all, they were the ones at the airport - doesn't matter whether they shot at Peter Zervas at all. But here's a thought: what if another gang shot at Peter Zervas to encourage Hells Angels to go after the Comanchero bikies? Smart. Divide and conquer. Let them cop all the police attention, let them kill each other, keep them both distracted and then muscle in on their business. It's only a theory, but one that experienced detectives are more than willing to entertain.

That brings us to the new, mean kid on the block. They're Notorious, by name and nature; the bikies, without the bikes. Some police dismissed them early on as wannabes. They're not and they have some serious backing from well-known underworld identities. Perhaps they're even at the heart of why everyone is turning on each other.

Four years ago, the Nomads were at war, with each other. Notorious was born as a splinter out of the festering sore that was the Nomads' Parramatta chapter. Members of Middle Eastern background were taking over Parramatta and were muscling in on other parts of the Nomads organisation.

It caused "friction"; that is, the odd knife fight, knee-capping, beating and gun battle. The Parramatta chapter disbanded - some went to jail, others, like Mahmoud Dib, joined the Bandidos. Others still, including Allan Sarkis, founded Notorious. The Bandidos and Notorious.... umm.... don't get on very well these days.

Dib is facing gun possession charges (a 45-calibre pistol - they can do some damage). He was arrested a couple of days after a wild gunfight outside his family home. His house had been targeted in a drive-by shooting a week before, police suspect, by gang members from Notorious, his old comrades. Bullets narrowly missed his daughter's head as she slept.

Underworld sources say Dib was, understandably, pretty angry about it. So when gunmen targeted his family home again, Dib's mates were waiting for them. The hunters became the hunted, fleeing under a barrage of machine gun fire from across the street. Unfortunately, as bullets flew through the night, six homes that had absolutely nothing to do with it were shot up. People inside their homes, on the internet, watching television, getting a snack from the fridge, sleeping.... caught in a war zone.

Notorious is linked to the murder of Moustafa Assoum in October, the knee-capping of three Nomads last month, a fire-bombing on a pastry shop to call in a debt. Other gangs have fought back, too. Notorious associate Todd O'Connor was shot dead in October. Sarkis' car exploded last July.

But the escalating war isn't just confined to personalities or factions within the Bandidos or Notorious. The aggression is spreading because, in the bikie world, violence becomes contagious.

So far, the sleeping giants, the Rebels, have been blissfully beneath the radar. Club president Alex Vella, like a Maltese Basil Fawlty, has issued an edict: "Don't mention the war". All Rebels have been gagged (as if bikies are a talkative bunch anyway!). Why pop your head up out of the trenches with all the bullets whizzing around your heads?

I hope Mrs Zervas gets her wish. I know she won't.