Chapter 3
Three
“Everyone has what they need?” he asked the group of men surrounding him.
They each nodded to him as they adjusted the weapons strapped to their bodies. It was more than enough ammunition to face whatever was on the other side of the fortress Mordecai had built.
In his ear, Trix calmly said, “Thermal imaging shows most of the action is in the dining room. I suspect we’ve caught them at dinner time.”
“Perfect. I might grab a bite while we’re there.” Slayer chuckled as he patted his belly.
Slash shoved him. “Wouldn’t be worth it. It’s probably all drugged.”
Slayer paled. “Fuck. Bet you’re right. Never mind. We’ll hit up a 7-11 on the way back. I really fuck with those tacos.”
Carver shook his head at the men. They weren’t the most professional when it came to this stuff.
Then again, it wasn’t as if they were a military organization or something akin to Tank’s crew.
Each man here came to join the Angels of Ruin because they needed a family and wanted to find it on the open road.
After years of working and living together, it was no surprise they didn’t take shit seriously anymore. Sure, they would once the action started. But anything before that was subject to their jokes.
“Focus,” he barked. “We’ve got people to rescue and a shit ton of firepower to go up against. I don’t want to lose a single one of you simply because we weren’t all in.”
The men straightened at his words, all their jovial behavior fading away. Each looked ready to take on what would come next. He just hoped it went as smoothly as he wanted.
Trix took the moment of silence to instruct everyone on where to go. “We’ve got about ten men. She’s got… well, a lot more. I suspect most of them can’t shoot for shit. And considering we’ll have the element of surprise since I took out her cameras, we should be good.”
As they all got into position, Carver sent up a prayer to the universe that this would all go well. He wanted to do this favor for Tank, to get rid of the shit stain that was Mordecai and then get back to his club to move on with business.
Once they were all in position, he waited for Trix to give them the final green light.
As soon as the countdown began, he felt a sort of calm wash over him.
No matter what he did next, he knew he was on the right side of things.
Mordecai had to die. There was no other choice.
If it added another body to his list, then so be it.
He’d kill as many shit humans as he needed to for the innocents of the world to stay safe.
“Time to launch,” Trix shouted. A whirring noise echoed through the night right before a loud boom tore through the silent evening.
“Fucking right. That’s how you use a grenade launcher.” Slayer muttered the words, but with the mics on it came across loud and clear. A few of the men laughed even as they rushed forward through the destroyed entrance to rain down holy hell on whoever waited for them.
The sound of gunshots brought Carver even more peace than the knowledge this mission was almost over. He didn’t want to be like the generations before him, yet he couldn’t deny he sometimes felt most comfortable with a weapon in his hand and a target to destroy.
Some would suggest he go into law enforcement or something with a want like that.
He’d considered it for a very short period of time when he was younger.
After realizing he’d never pass a background check thanks to a few run-ins with the law, he let the notion fade away as he embraced who he truly was.
An Angel sent to cause Ruin.
With each step forward into the compound, more bodies poured out of the house and surrounding buildings. His men shot with precision. The enemy fell time after time, often before getting a chance to defend themselves.
The closer they got to the house, the more intense the firefight became. Carver switched out his handgun for a semi. Holding down the trigger, he watched the spray of bullets cascade across several bodies.
“That’s my president!” Slash shouted.
Carver smiled and shook his head. If his second was this energized, he knew Mordecai and her men didn’t stand a chance. Slash was just as deadly as Carver even without the Butcher nickname.
“Go through the front door and head down the hall. We’ve got two turns until the dining room. There are a few more men coming from around back. The dining room still appears occupied by Mordecai and Archie.” Trix’s instructions were clear.
Carver pointed to Hex and motioned for him to come as his backup. The rest of the men would take on whoever was coming from around back. Slash would lead the group in Carver’s absence, which was exactly what his role required.
Without words, Carver and Hex moved down the hall back-to-back. Their guns were raised in case anyone popped out of the many rooms lining the hallway. It was never smart to let your guard down during an ambush. Even when you had the upper hand, you kept focused until the primary target was handled.
A hulking man ran down the hall. Before Carver could take a shot, another man exited a room to the left. Hex took out the latest arrival. The shot made blood splatter enough to cover the guard who’d come down the hall.
It was almost comical how big the man’s eyes got as he watched his coworker drop to the ground. In a flash, he spun around to flee. He made it to an open doorway as Hex and Carver closed in on him. As the guard opened his mouth to speak, Carver fired off a kill shot.
He rushed forward to examine how many people were in the room while Hex took up protecting his back. Trix spoke in his ear, directing the others to the last few enemies that approached, as well as noting where he suspected the victims to be.
As they turned the corner, two more guards were struggling to pull their weapons free. Two shots later, they no longer had to worry out it. The bodies dropped as a feminine voice called out, “Well this is highly inconvenient. State your name and who sent you.”
He chuckled. “Name’s Carver. Tank sends his regards, doll face.”
Even as the woman raised a gun his way, Carver felt no fear. His shot hit its target — right between the eyes — which ensured Mordecai would be no more. The bitch was dead as could be.
Finally.
The man he’d been clued in was Archie threw up whatever he’d eaten at the sight of the carnage around him. Carver moved closer. He felt bad enough the innocent man had been taken, but to witness this shit was rough.
“It’s ok. Get it all out. Bitch probably laced it anyway.
” He repeated the notion the others had mentioned earlier when Slayer had said he wanted to eat.
Carver didn’t know if it helped or not. He figured it might encourage the guy to not hold back.
It wouldn’t do either of them any good if he delivered Archie to NightShade all drugged up.
As soon as Archie stopped puking, Carver handed him a napkin to clean himself up with. Thankfully, most of the mess had spread across the table and floor rather than covering the guy.
“Who are you?” he asked Carver after wiping his face.
Trix chuckled at the question. “He doesn’t trust you, Boss.”
Carver shook his head even though he knew Trix wouldn’t see him, as he answered Archie.
“My name is Carver. I know Tank. He traded me a couple of favors to come out here to help you. Can’t say it makes me upset to do his dirty work.
His favors are always a good time. Plus, killing psycho bitches and her pups is all in a day’s work. ”
Archie leaned back in his seat. His gaze swept over Carver, as if assessing his words to match the man before him.
“Who are you really? What kind of work has you killing people and calling it a good time?”
Carver shrugged. “I’m not sure how much you want to know. My job is… varied. There’s a lot to it. Just know I’m on the edge of good guy, with a touch of not so good mixed in. Now what do you say about calling your husband and those other numbskulls to come get us?”
While it wasn’t part of the original plan, he wondered if the offer would help Archie relax. The man was wary after dealing with Mordecai. That much was obvious.
“No. Too much risk of getting caught,” Archie replied with a tired sigh.
The confirmation that Archie was still thinking of protecting his man and the NightShade team had Carver snapping his fingers. He was a good fit for them.
“I like how you think, kid. You ever need a home away from home, come find the Angels, and I’ll vouch for you. Let’s load up on my bike. I can torch this place later if Tank doesn’t need any evidence.”
Carver could tell there was no chance of Archie making the long walk back to where they’d parked the bikes alone. He stepped forward, arms out. Archie allowed Carver to lift him into a bridal style hold. Once Carver had him tucked safe to his chest, he turned to face Hex.
“We ready to load up?”
Hex shook his head. “Not quite. We’ve got a lot more survivors than we originally thought. We’re going to need a second truck.”
“Fuck,” Carver grunted.
Trix’s voice joined them. “I’m already working on it, Boss. You’ll need to return Archie first and then come back to the compound to help navigate transport. It’s going to be all hands on deck. I’d send more Angels, but figured you wanted to keep them home should anything else pop up.”
“You’re right, Trix. I’ll get Archie home, then come back. Slash can man everything until then.”
With that, he got Archie situated in front of him on his bike and set off towards the NightShade offices. It was time to lock in those favors from Tank.
When Carver got to the NightShade building, the security guys gave him curious looks.
He knew it wasn’t because of the amount of blood coating him because he’d stopped along the way to change into a fresh set of all black clothing.
He also made sure Archie was spot free to prevent any unwanted attention.
“Hey guys,” Archie called out. “He’s with me.”