21. Nico
Chapter 21
Nico
L aughing, I make my way back to Ivan, who is now whimpering. “This could have been a lot worse for you.” I slap his face to get his attention. “You should be thankful that I have my mind on other things.” I crack my neck and nod at Tommy to sink his feet into the acid.
At first, he gives no reaction, like putting your feet in warm water, then it starts to creep up on you, the stinging and burning sensation, and he attempts to move his feet, but the grip Tommy has on him is too strong.
I watch as his skin starts to burn up, and the smell is pungent, vinegar like, and his flesh gets redder and redder as the acid penetrates his skin.
Fuck knows when he put them on but Tommy picks up his feet wearing some specialist gloves. “What?” he asks, looking at me. “I’m not getting this shit on my hands.”
I didn’t see it before but next to the bowl is a machete. The acid has damaged some skin but it's not going to make this job any easier. Tommy looks at me for the go ahead, and I nod, confirmation for him to proceed.
“Brace yourself, Ivan, you know how I like to keep you on your toes.” I laugh at my own joke, but Ivan, on the other hand, doesn’t appear to think it’s that funny.
The whoosh of the machete slices through the air repeatedly as Tommy hacks away at his toes, and each time he is successful, you hear one drop to the floor with a soft thud and rustle against the tarp.
Blood pours from the wounds as Tommy severs Ivan’s toes from his feet.
He picks them up one by one and wanders over to the cupboard, then drops them into the blender. The blades stutter as they struggle to cut through bone, but he shakes it and it starts to spin. Eventually, I can see a thick, bony liquid forming inside.
“Ready.” He looks at me.
“Ready,” I tell him as I lean down to Ivan and rip the tape from his mouth. “It’s been fun, but we should get down to business,” I tell him.
“N-Nico, p-please, we can work this out,” he stutters.
I take the knife from the trolley and slice a cross on his chest and watch as the blood trickles quickly down his side.
“Cross your heart.” I chuckle but again, I get nothing from Ivan.
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” he tells me, and I can’t help but laugh.
“You have nothing for me,” I tell him as I run the knife across his neck, teasing him with death.
“Wait-wait,” he shouts. “Tony … there’s Tony.” His eyes bore into mine, pleading me to stop.
“There’s nothing you have on my capos that I don’t already know,” I spit out.
“The guy from London, Frankie …” he begins to tell me. “It’s not what you think.” A bloody smile spreads over his lips.
If this mother fucker thinks he’s going to get me begging for answers about my own men, then he can think again.
“You seem happy with yourself, Ivan.” I grind my teeth hard as I approach him, and I push his head back with one hand and look down at him. “You think you’re quite the joker, huh?”
He tries to move his head from my grasp, but I’m not letting up. “If you wanna fucking smile, Ivan, let’s make this a little more permanent for you,” I say as I slice from the corner of his mouth and up to his cheek. I do the same to both sides. “You look happy with yourself, Ivan. You have anything else you wanna share?” I ask.
He shakes his head as he coughs and splutters on the blood filling his mouth.
“No need to thank me, Tommy,” I say as I look over at him. I’ve made taking his teeth out so much fucking easier now.
“I was going to make this quick, but you know …” I say as I drop the knife and grip his neck tightly. “I’m looking forward to watching the life leave your worthless fucking body.” I spit on his face.
His cheeks go red as he tries to breath, his blood and spit drips onto my hands, and I feel his pulse ease from a rapid beat to a flatline.
Watching life fully leave someone’s body is something I’ll never tire of seeing. It’s a feeling that brings me peace.
The death rattle that comes from their bodies is almost like a last plea for help, and it’ll never not bring a smile to my face knowing I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.
“Here’s the contract.” Tommy passes it to me as I pick up Ivan’s limp arm and dig his finger into the cut on his chest.
Pressing his bloodied fingerprint on the contact seals the deal.
“You know he was talking shit about Tony right?” Tommy says as he comes to the side of Ivan and starts to pull out his teeth.
“I’m not taking any chances. He may be my cousin, but I need to know what he’s hiding and what’s with this Frankie guy,” I tell him.
“He’s just trying to save his own skin. I can’t see Tony doing anything without you knowing?” He shrugs.
“This stays between us. No one else can know what he said until I decide what I’m going to do, understand?”
“You got it,” he tells me.
I nod at him as I go to the sink and wash my hands, watching the blood run down the plug hole.
Drying my hands, I grab my jacket and turn to Tommy. “Speak soon, and, Tommy … remember what I said.” I slam the container door shut behind me and get into the waiting SUV.
I scroll through my phone and hit call.
“Boss,” Tony answers on the first ring.
“I have a job for the new guy,” I inform him.
“Okay, but you wanted to work through the list, and the list has taken them out of the city,” he tells me.
“When did you do that?” I ask.
“They left tonight. You’ll get a text when it’s done, but can anyone else do what you need?” he questions, and I can hear the rustling of paper on his desk.
“No, I want the guy from London. Get him back,” I command.
I hang up without giving him the option to reply.
My phone pings, and I look down.
Tony: They’re in the middle of a job, and it’s too dangerous to pull out now. They’ll come back as soon as they’re done. Send details.
Me: Call me when they’re back, and we’ll talk then.
Fuck! I slam my fist against the inside of the car door, clenching my jaw.
I will get to the bottom of this, whatever this is.