Nodding curtly, I walk towards the main doors. The guards are on a shift change so this leaves us with approximately five minutes of unguarded access. Carefully moving forward, I shift my gun’s strap that sits uncomfortably across my chest. The heavy metal situated in my hands feels like unholy armor, casting away all of the sins its lead bullets penetrate. I am the god that seals a sinner’s fate. One stroke of my pen, one fire of my gun, one wrongdoing, and they will fall to my feet. My hand reaches out, grasping the cold handle beneath my fingers. A shiver runs through me as if it's made of ice. It’s not due to the temperature but the adrenaline funneling its way into my muscles as I buzz with anticipation. Time to play. I twist it and push the door open in silence. A soft instrumental melody plays quietly throughout the home while the gentle hum of lives within vibrates in casual conversation.I draw my weapon as I enter the hall. White marble speckled with gold coats the floors and walls in a show of true wealth. Taking in the room across from me black curtains cast the large windows, cloaking the contents of the home from the outside world. The giant sectional couch holds the back of three heads while nearby chairs are filled with men sitting casually. Some watch television while others play on their phones. Little do they know that there is a predator lurking within these walls. Death is not far from their grasp.
Inching forward, the movement of air draws my attention behind me for a moment. I turn slightly to see Ryon gently shutting the door behind him. I turn back around and continue my direction of movement when I am halted by a man walking out from a hallway. We make eye contact long enough for the realization of all parties to set in. He draws his gun as I lift mine to fire. The bullet leaves my gun with an explosion as it flies through the air and lodges itself somewhere inside of his skull. The moment the blast goes off, all hidden parties turn and within milliseconds, bullets are sent back and forth. We dive for cover continuing to take out our enemies. I aim for one of their heads and fire, shooting him right between the eyes. He drops with a thud that would be audible if it wasn’t for the sound of gunfire ricocheting off the walls. Moments later the shooting stops, leaving us standing in desolate silence. Pushing forward, we each take a separate path clearing various hallways and rooms. Through the earpiece, the voice of each sounds off notifying the group to the lack of human presence in each wing. Well that was anticlimactic to say the least.
Suddenly a great force hurdles itself through my body from the right. Thrown to the floor, I look to find a man not much older than me preparing to stand with a knife firmly situated in his left hand. “Finally,” I think to myself as my grown appreciationfor hand to hand combat leaves a sense of contentment deep within me. Smiling evilly, I stand and position my arm in a defensive manner and cock my fists. He lunges the knife towards my torso and I dodge it by leaning backwards narrowly missing my gut by centimeters. I swing my fist forward and make contact with the side of his face. He stumbles backwards while shaking his head in an attempt to regain his hazing vision. Taking the opportunity, I rush towards him collecting his skull with both of my hands and slam it into the wall behind him. It makes a crack noise as blood spurts and trails down the wall. He screams as I continue the motion, until finally his voice turns to gibberish. His eyes grow hazy as he slowly loses strength, leaving me to support his weight by my fingertips. Finally, his body goes slack and I release my hold. Collapsing to the ground, he lays there coating the floor in crimson as I stand over his corpse, taking in the measurable deaths that occurred today. With a satisfied humph, I step over him carefully to not place my feet in his blood and move to rejoin with the group that is now waiting outside the door of the basement.
The level below holds access to the catacombs where most of the members have likely met their fates by explosives or gunfire. James opens the door and descends the stairs one at a time followed by the others in a single file line, with me carrying behind. Once my feet touch the floor space, I absorb my surroundings quickly. My sweat drenched hair sticks to my skin as I set my eyes on a door encompassing no handle and a mounted key panel against the right wall. Really, a safe room? Fucking pussies. My eyes flick to James as we share the same thoughts. Nodding towards it, he acknowledges my meaning before walking over in long strides. Pulling out a small set of tools from his pocket, he makes quick work of dismantling the front face of the pad exposing the vulnerable wires situatedbehind it. Moments later, the originally red screen flickers randomly to green before settling on the latter. Buzzing vibrates throughout the room, peaking our interest. The sound of locks being released causes us to move towards the entrance in haste. The door starts to give way as it slides to the left. Looking inside, we find none other than Xavier Santino and his wife. If the gods weren’t already making a joke of my twisted life, they definitely are now. It takes only moments for him to make eye contact with me before his expression changes from calm to down right terror. Without hesitation, I lunge towards his cowering figure.
Collecting him by the throat, I lift him from the ground as he flails in desperation to escape my grasp. He tries to speak but due to the present fleeting oxygen from his body, his voice comes out more like a whimper. His wife screams so loud that it momentarily breaks my concentration. If I was any less focused on the man before me, I would have half a mind to shoot the bitch in the face. Glancing behind me, the guys step forward taking Xavier from my hold and plant him in the chair that has been dragged in. Ryon retrieves rope from an unknown location, making fast movements to secure him in his present location. The apparent horror acted on his visage brings me a momentary taste of sweet joy. His sudden sobs bring me back to the very hatred this man once planted within me. His heinous treatment of human beings caused similar sounds to once leave a broken siren’s lips. My blood begins to boil as memories flood their way back into my mind. Her cries, the horrific sounds she made as they had their ways with her, her body shaking beneath my touch as if I was the cause of her torture all make the sleeping monster within crawl its way to the surface. Seconds pass as a terrifying smile creeps its way onto my face. Xavier flails in his chair similar to the way I once did when he mademe watch the love of my very being give head to her best friend. Something snaps within me as I close the distance between us.
Suddenly, my emotions go still. My body feels weightless as an eerie calm reaches my soul. Grabbing the chair placed conveniently across from him, I grab the top to spin it around in one singular motion before straddling its seat. Resting my arms atop the backrest, I set my gaze upon Xavier’s wife who still sits in a corner behind him shaking. She quivers under my stare, almost visually sinking back further into the wall. Smirking, I stand and waltz towards her as she attempts to crawl away from me. I thrust my hand into her hair and jerk her to a standing position. She cries out from the pain on her scalp but I don't care enough to acknowledge it. Dragging her to the chair I was just sitting upon, I toss her onto it. She falls back with a thud and a whimper. Looking to Xavier, she begs him silently for comfort. I can see that look in her eyes. One emotion so all consuming it has the power to save you and destroy you instantly. Love twirls deep within her tear ridden eyes as she attempts to reach out for him. Surprisingly, he moves farther away from her while turning his head to look at the closest wall. She audibly gasps, nodding her head in the realization that her lifeline thinks nothing of her when she needs him the most. Such a waste it is really, as they have no idea what it is like to lose the other. They will surely know what it is like soon. Drawing my hand gun, I aim it at the side of her head. Horror crosses her features, a look I have become increasingly familiar with in the recent days.
Looking at Xavier, he eyes me suspiciously while hardly showing any emotion. If anything, he looks bored by the risk to his wife’s life.
“You don’t care if she dies, I take it?” I ask curiously.
“Kill her or don't kill her, it really makes little difference to me.” I’m only mildly surprised by his callus tone. The idea of not caring for the safety of my person is not something I could even attempt to dissect. My curiosity grows as I grab another chair, return it to my previous position, and straddle it all while never allowing my gun to drift past its target.
“Tell me about that. You don't care about her wellbeing? Her absence doesn't create a sense of agony? You don’t fight a constant need to be in her presence?” I interrogate him forcefully. A dull ache finds its way back into my heart, one I’ve been running away from. It hurts a little less now though.
“No.” He responds in annoyance. I think both me and his wife must gasp at the same time as he flickers his eyes between us.
“Interesting. That sounds like a miserable existence.” He snorts in response to my words.
“Anywho, back to the topic at hand.” I turn my attention to his wife and stand up. Towering over her, tears fill her eyes as she shakes her head Fearfully
“You wouldn’t kill a woman, would you? You clearly love someone. Think about how you would feel if she was in this position.” She begs.
“I've seen it too many times to count, all thanks to your lovely husband here. The difference between now and then is that she is dead. Nevertheless, I am a feminist and believe in equal rights. So-,” before I can finish my sentence I pull the trigger sending a bullet through her skull. She falls off the chair with a thump.
Suddenly, there is screaming beside me. Looking over, I find Xavier is the source of that ghastly noise. So now hecares? Not when she was alive but now that she is dead? So many regrets, most will be faced with after loss. You know what they say though…hindsight is twenty twenty.
“So now that she’s been dealt with, are you ready to give me the information I am looking for?” I now have the gun aimed at him. He sniffles and shakes with his eyes still glued to his wife’s dead body laying mere feet away from him. Losing patience after a few seconds of no response, I jab the gun against his forehead to regain his attention. His eyes finally jerk over meeting mine.
“Wha-what? What information?” He stutters. I roll my eyes in annoyance but stuff my emotions down, focusing on the task at hand.
“I want to know who was behind the plane attack.” I speak clearly, so the blubbering buffoon before me doesn't get lost in my words.
“I don’t…I don’t know. It wasn’t my mission.” I nod in understanding.
“The capture of us…that was my father’s doing, yes?” He nods rapidly, overcompensating for his lack of composure at this very moment.
“Yes, h-he paid us to capture you. We were told to torture and kill the girl and her friends but leave you alive. Before I would pretend to kill you, some of his-your men would infiltrate the bunker and rescue you. He never told me anything more than that.” Anger deep within my body reaches an all time high. I knew with near certainty that my father was behind it but for it to be confirmed means something entirely different.
“Well, thank you Xavier. This has been enlightening. Goodbye.” I smile politely and pull the trigger. He goes flying backwards. The chair clangs against the ground as blood begins to flood the space around his skull. I stand and turn around, passing the guys on my way out. There’s more work to do.
FIVE HOURS LATER:
I find myself in front of yet another cartel member, asking yet another series of questions, getting nothing in response. Each died by a bullet. I've had to reload my Glock nearly ten times since we found a large number of them hiding within the tunnels. Finally we seem to be getting somewhere with this particular member.
“Do not make me repeat myself again.” I grit out between my teeth. My patience is wearing thin.
“I-The French man paid us to do it.” He hangs his head in surrender.
“Excuse me?” Shock evident in my tone.
“The French man called the hit on the plane.” He whimpers. I thought I heard that right. My father killed Everly. He might have won this battle but he didn’t win the war. He’s going to wish he was dead when I’m done with him. I turn to the guys, silently telling them to discard this member quickly.
Within thirty minutes, we dispatch all of the remaining members and head to the plane. Once we return home, we will recoup and make a plan to kill my father. Something that I should have done a long time ago was rid the earth of a man so heartless. His first mistake was creating a child that could go toe to toe with Satan and win. His second was taking the life of the only woman that could bring that victor to his knees.
