Page 136 of Hostile Saint

As I cut through muscle and pulled out his organs, I laid them on his chest so he could watch himself die.

In horror, he stared at the innards now on his chest, while I whispered, “See her beautiful face as you descend into the darkness you prayed to. Know she will still be here, alive and thriving. Know my father’s death was not in vain. You, and all who made you, are going down.”

As Crow choked on fright, blood, and the mistakes he had made against me, I walked away, counting his final breaths.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Balancing Vengeance

Ying and yang; dark and light, finding mystic harmony.

Whether or not I was becoming a sinister man or a one-percenter was still to be revealed. The one who once rallied so many assaults now lay waiting for his reaper. What would his reaper reap?

“Oh, Daaaaaamien,” I sang out in a manner that announced I was still siding with the black heart that had been awakened in me.

How far would I go?

All the way, for Lacey.

Prowling back toward where I had left Damien, I wasn’t completely surprised to see Diesel waiting for me. I asked, “Have you been around to watch the show?”

Not frightened by my recent actions, he was leaning against a tree, smoking a cigarette. “You still with us, Pup?”

Blood and innards dripped from my fingers and knife as I stalked past him. “Has yet to be determined. I’ll let you know after one more kill.”

Petting Charlie, Diesel mentioned, “I got a grey-eyed bastard who’s a little concerned with what he just saw.”

The camera… Now walking backward, I pulled it from my vest and tossed it to Diesel. “Here. Now he don’t have to watch.”

Picking flesh off the little item, he grumbled, “Fucking teenagers.”

Turning back around without stopping my stride, I said, “The teenager in me is long gone, Prez.”

“That’s what I’m a little worried about.” He and Charlie followed me. “This, uh, ‘new you’ is a bit, er, unsettling.”

I admired the blood on his clothing and challenged, “You didn’t take a life tonight?”

Still walking, he peered over his shoulder to see the aftermath, even though we were already too far away. “I didn’t treat his guts like Play-Doh, kid.”

Searching for Damien, I sneered, “I take it Lynx is worried my modifications are showing their ugly side?”

“He’s not the only one, Pup. You’ve gone from ‘Sweet Saint’ to ‘Holy Fuck, Batman’ in about three minutes flat.”

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘bat man’ but—” I finally spotted a pool of blood, which made my mind splinter with more desire for revenge clashing with gruesome memories. “But I can tell you I’m very angry right now.”

He mumbled, “No shit.”

After examining the puddle, I followed the red trail Damien had left behind, attempting to drag himself away. “They hurt me, hurt my wife.”

Diesel, the twisted sonofabitch himself, actually had the balls to chuckle. “Something they are presently regretting, I assure you.”

“They murdered my father.”

“Hey, I ain’t pro-life with these fucks, trust me, but I am a wee bit concerned with your, er, technique.”

I leaned down and swiped at the trail I was following, like a hound dog. Holding up four red fingers, I asked, “Did you know, these four terrorists found my wife’s menstrual cycle to be like taking her virginity all over again?”

Diesel cringed, trying to avoid looking at my hand. “The fuck?”