“LA.”
She groans but nods. “Drive by.”
“That’ll work.” I grin.
She stands and pushes the chair back, heading into the bedroom. I set out to make the arrangements. Once I’ve done it all, she’ll finalise the details of her hit. She closes the door in the bedroom, and I know she wants to be alone while she prepares. She’ll be checking out the mark, learning his habits and routines, and finding the best way to strike. And where.
We arrive at the location in LA and set up in the bedsit. The place is infested, but it’s only for a couple of days maximum. Vic has taken a motorbike and is riding around the city doing recon, checking for the best routes, best exit routes, and least travelled roads. She’ll be surveying it all. Her attention to detail in these situations is second to none. She comes across as blasé about it all, but in reality, she’s hyper-focused, she’s thorough, she tests for every eventuality, every problem that could arise, and she runs the scenarios through her head, creating multiple plans so if something happens, we always have a backup idea orfive. So, she’s out in the fresh air while I’m holed up in this stinking place with the fucking roaches. It’s hours later when she returns.
“You good?”
She nods. “Drive by tonight, leave straight after. I’m not staying in this shit hole a minute longer.”
I huff. As soon as we got here this morning, she went out, and this is the first time she’s been back. I’m the one that's been stuck here all day. She curls her nose up as she drops the rucksack on the table, pulling out three bandannas.
“Acquire a car, drive by, dead mark, drop bandanna in the street, ruled a gang war. Game over. Go the fuck home.”
“Well, okay then.” I shake my head. "Anything else to elaborate on in your extensively planned plan?”
She glares at me for a second. “No. Bikes are stashed already.”
“And how the fuck did you manage to ride a bike and stash two more?” I quirk a brow at her. She’s fucking good but not that good that she can ride three fucking bikes.
“Doesn’t fucking matter how I did it, Xav. All you need to know is it’s done.”
“Well, okay then.” She’s a grumpy fucker at the best of times, but she’s all I have in this world, so I suck it up. I start clearing up, placing everything we have and leaving it by the door while we wait for nightfall. The plane will be waiting at the airstrip. The bikes are stashed en route; we just need to steal a car for the first part.
Vic
Chapter V
I’ve already assessed the area and found the car I need to steal. I’ve also found three others as a backup in case anything untoward should arise. I send Xav the signal, and he rounds the corner. As he steps towards me, I see the flames start to lick the building. I rise from my squatted position near the door of the car and open it. I slide into the driver’s seat and toss the rucksack into the back. Xav does the same as he slides into the passenger seat, and I start the car with the screwdriver and peel away from the kerb.
“All clear?”
He nods, and we drive in silence till we arrive at the outskirts of the streets surrounding where the mark will be. He’ll be on his front porch surrounded by his waste-of-space gang. It wasn’t hard to surveil them, considering that’s all they seem to do. I’ll take him outthen, and I'll take as many of the low lives as I can before I peel out of there. I turn to Xav, and he nods. I pull the bandanna up over my face and set off. I drive slowly down the street as the house comes into view. The mark rises from the seat and glares in our direction, puffing his chest out in some kind of unimpressive show of dominance.
Xav hands me the gun and lowers the window, leaning in from the passenger side and steadying the wheel as I lean out point and shoot. I take out the mark and three others before they even realise what’s happening and start to pull their own guns. Xav drops the bandanna calling card out of the window, and I hit two more guys before screeching off as loudly and obnoxiously as I can. When the police finally arrive, we will be long gone. The rival gang will be significantly identified by the way I carry out the hit and the dropping of the rival gang’s colours. And if this sparks a gang war and they take out a few more of each other’s members, it won’t be a loss to society. It will do the world a favour. I smile to myself.
I pull into the clearing and slide out of the car, grabbing the bags from the back. Setting fire to the car, I slide onto the bike and grin over at Xav.
“Race ya!” I wink at him before I slide on the helmet and screech out of there.
It’s not long before he’s behind me, and we race down the deserted highway to the airstrip. I grin as he chases after me, and the adrenaline makes me feel… alive, for want of a better word. It makes me feel something. I only ever feel anything when I’m killing or riding. Occasionally fucking, but I normally kill the guys after… or during, depending on the job, so it could be the killing. And then there’s Father. I feel everything when it comes to him.
After the meeting with Father—the same shit, different day—he’s ‘satisfied’. He’s neither pleased nor displeased, although his face normally shows some kind of disapproval aimed towards me regarding my results. It’s the only other time I feel anything. Anger. I want to kill the son of a bitch.
“Hey.”
Xav rests his hand on my leg, and I drop my head back against the headrest. “You don’t have to let him push your buttons, ya know. I act the way he expects for an easy life, Vic. I have no respect for him, but maybe you should try it rather than fighting all the time.”
“That’s easy for you to say when you can do no wrong.”
“I act how he expects; that’s why it looks like I can do no wrong. As I say, Vic. Easy life.”
I shake my head and glare out of the window. Xav sighs but takes us home. I walk into the apartment, and Xav opens the bedroom door in front of me to stop me from punching it open, and I glare at him.
“Only you can break the cycle, Vic. Play nice till we get what we need.”
