20. Worth it?
20
WORTH IT?
GHOST
My ass is on fire, but it isn’t burning as fiercely as my mood.
Because I’m being a coward, and I’m never a coward. Director called the meeting twenty minutes ago, and I’m still pacing the rug in my bedroom, trying to work up the balls to go near Riot. See him. Look him in the eye and act like I’m not fazed by the way he fucked me.
Because he did. Fucked me straight to Death’s door, and I am affected by it. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to blending that ‘one or two second’ precipice with real pleasure, and I’m fucking jonesing for it again. And it didn’t take as much brutality as I thought it would to get me there. I mean, he was harsh, and blood was drawn, but it was… missionary style fucking with some strangulation, and holy shit, did it hit the mark.
I’m chalking it up to being a new and dangerous experience. I’ve never been fucked in the ass before, so that added a level of appeal, and I’ve never given in to Killian’s goading, so that added the dangerous element. That’s all it was, I hope. A one-time thrill that won’t hit the same a second time. If I go for it again, it’ll probably be a letdown. There won’t be a dead guy in the middle to add to the scene.
So, there’s no use hiding out in my room any longer. Fuck him, and fuck everyone else if Monster told them what he walked in on. I’m done being a coward.
I pull my door open, lock it behind me, and run into my brother on the way down the stairs. “Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting?” Remi asks, waiting for me to catch up.
“I’m going. Are you coming?”
“I’m not invited.”
He could come if he wanted to. Director knows Krypt tells him pretty much everything anyway, but I kind of respect that he doesn’t want to. He’s not attempting to be a Vile member, and I doubt all the guys would be okay with him trying to be. He knows where his strength lies, and it’s not as a ruthless stalker or murderous hunter.
“I’m meeting Cain,” Remi says, grabbing his cello case from the bottom of the stairs. “Windows are finally fixed at the shop, and now we have a whole day of work to do for the music festival. It’s coming up fast.”
Exhausted, I smile. Because through it all, he still loves music as much as he always has. I hope to get back to that someday. Maybe even play with him again for old time’s sake. “I’ll come by and help out later when everything around here is done,” I tell him. “Let me know what you need.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Why you being so amicable?”
“Fuck you, Remi.” It’s definitely not because I got banged into oblivion last night, and it’s certainly not because I’m the caring type, so I have no idea why I offered. I’m all messed up, so I leave him to it, pick up my pace so I can’t turn around, and ball my fists before pushing open the con room door.
Everyone is just standing around listening to Kyd tell a story, but I watch all their heads turn in my direction when I close the door. Riot’s eyes most of all. I can practically feel his smug grin as I avoid looking at him, choosing to lock eyes with Monster instead. He stares back at me with a blank face, so I look at everyone else.
“What?”
Riot laughs, but Kyd breaks the tension. “Lil Baby Ghosty, I was just telling the boys about the progression of my love match with the good doctor. Basically, he’s having a really hard time resisting me, just like that psychic said he would. So, what do you think? Should I ask him out?”
“You haven’t already?”
“Not in so many words. I’m trying to be subtle.”
“Not a subtle bone in your body, Kyd.” Glitch laughs. “Pretty sure you asked him out when you held a knife to his femoral.”
Kyd sighs dreamily. “Yeah. Good times. I already wrote that part of our story.”
Since I don’t want Riot to think I’m being a chicken, I look right at him, daring him to say something. Knowing him, he’ll ask me how my ass is in front of all the guys, and then I’ll have to fight him just to keep my ego happy. But he doesn’t say anything. He bites his lip before running his tongue over it, eyes moving up and down my body. My fists ball harder, but my stomach flutters, too. Fuck, I don’t like that he has the ability to influence my physical reactions now. Maybe he always has… but not like this. Before, he riled me in a way that brought a challenge and a level of rage that felt motivating.
Now he riles me in a way that brings a challenge with the prospect of pleasure, and that pisses me off. A goddamn flutter? God…
The door bangs open. Director walks in, clearly in a mood, and I roll my eyes at the predictability of what’s about to happen next. Fucking rank. I’m about to get grounded by Daddy. I turn my back to him, but he won’t let me get away with it.
“Can’t even face your mistakes, can you?” Director snaps at my back. “Line the fuck up.”
My teeth clench hard enough to pop my jaw, but it brings me a level of pride to go stand in second position. I’ll probably lose it today, like Riot said, but whatever. It’s mine for now and I’ll hold it as long as I can. Because humiliation is eating me alive now that he’s confirmed that I’m being a coward by avoiding my mistakes. Yeah, I got the kid killed and that wasn’t the job, but fuck him. My needs were more important in the moment, and he should know me well enough by now to understand how selfish I am. Not my fault he tries to put me in a box I don’t belong in.
In the rank line, I shove my hands into my pants pockets like I have no shits to give. Seven nudges me to ask if I’m alright, but I shrug him off without a word. I’m sure he’s about to find out what happened, and I’m banking on Monster still being mute so he can’t shout about what I did with Riot. Still can’t believe I did that. Let him fuck me.
I was so convinced I won that round because I got exactly what I wanted, but as I lay in bed all morning, it got all churned up in my head. Because he accused me of begging.
Did I?
Not verbally, but maybe… no. Fuck that. I didn’t do shit other than push all his buttons and get him to crack. He’s the one who admitted how he felt by snapping Brady’s neck and taking what he wanted. He’s the one who kissed me. He’s the one who has wanted this for as long as we’ve been feuding, and he’s the one who took it to the final level.
Wordlessly, Director paces our line. He rubs at his temples, clearly sick of our bullshit, building the moment until he’s ready to snap. He doesn’t often lash out at us publicly, but we’re a bunch of degenerates with personality disorders who thrive on our egos and let embarrassment control us, so it’s in his best interest to humiliate us in front of one another. A lesson he learned a long time ago and hasn’t stopped utilizing since he first started offering up the rank line as an incentive to outdo each other.
Still looking at the floor, his arm snaps out and he points at Kyd. “You find your lion?”
He gasps and presses a hand to his chest in mock outrage. “Fabrizio is an ally. He helped us take down Reaper Corp that night. I leave steaks out for him. Only the best cuts.”
Director groans. His arm moves to point at Glitch. “You get the cameras at Misfit Hall back up and running?”
“Yeah, but Lockan keeps taking them down.”
Director groans again. “Fix it.” He points at Seven. “You have a plan for new initiates once we do the early Initiation Night?”
From beside me, at the head of the line, Seven says, “Training plans, yeah, but no plans for what to do with the existing initiates. The ones who have made it this far are set to move into the dorms soon, but none of them want to live with new initiates and have their identities revealed yet. We need a new house. Somewhere to put the new ones temporarily.”
“New ones can live at their houses like all new initiates do, can’t they?” Director asks.
“Yeah, most of them. But a lot of families have young kids, and people are trying to put separation between kids and danger, so there’s already an interest in a new boarding house.”
“Hallows house,” Riot offers, looking at his brother. “No point in it just sitting there empty. Use it.”
“Yeah?” Seven asks, looking at Krypt for his approval.
Everything that lives inside Krypt’s eyes rebels as he thinks about that house, but he blinks it away and nods at Seven.
“Make it happen. New recruits can move into the Hallows’ house if they need a place, and our loyal initiates can use the dorms here.” Director sighs and takes a few steps down the line. Pointing at Facts, he asks, “Security checkpoints set up for the music festival?”
“Yes, hello. We have video and audio devices planted, and we’ve worked out a schedule for us to take stations at certain times. Road is being monitored to scan all incoming vehicles.”
“And run facial recognition,” Glitch adds.
“Yes,” Facts agrees. “And Auggie gave us a room at the Umbra Inn so we can monitor guests from there. It’s booked solid.”
“Good. Thank you,” Director says, finger swinging to Ransom towards the end. “I need you to run Initiation Night next month, so start prepping. I won’t be there.”
“Why?”
“I’ll be away with Axel. Benton Wentworth is still funding his research, and he’s getting suspicious about Axel’s new affiliations in Moros. I’m going to… meet with him to appease the billionaire bastard.”
“Why?” Ransom asks again.
“Because we’re one small town going up against a multi-billion-dollar ruthless corporation, and we need his fucking money!” Director shouts, losing his cool. Wow, this threat is really weighing on his shoulders, and it makes me feel slightly guilty for fucking up the job last night. “We need his money. His funding. He’s been in bed with Yates, and it’s time we utilize him for our own needs. Axel is in good standing with him, so we’re going to build that bridge until we can burn it down later.” Which means Director will have to apologize and make up for the fact that we kept Benton Wentworth in the basement cells and chased him through town on our last Initiation Night. Oops.
“You want me to be you?” Ransom clarifies. “As in, run the night?”
“Stay at Vile House. You play my role during this one. You aren’t to leave and join the rest on the streets. You need to be here, welcoming the initiates who return. It’s good practice for you.”
“Practice for what?” Ransom scoffs.
Director only shakes his head and moves on to Krypt. “Remi is all set up with security for the music festival?”
“Yes.” Krypt looks at Menace. “And his tattooed friend.” Too many Cs in Cain Carson for him to call the prick by name, apparently.
Menace smirks. He must be the protection. “We’ve got plans in place for all the business owners. Don’t worry, Director. We’re watching out for our people.”
“Good. And as far as town-wide training goes, what are your plans?” he asks Menace.
“We’ve set up a spot out on Carnival Hill for combat training. The Harpy isn’t happy about it, but as long as we stay the hell away from her place, don’t disrespect Janie’s Woods, and leave her the fuck alone, she’s granted her permission. She has a request, though.”
Director finally looks up, meeting eyes with Menace. “What request?”
“She wants to be hired.”
“For what?”
“Poison. She wants a failsafe in place. If Reaper Corp takes over Moros, she wants to… uh, well, she wants a failsafe.”
“What fucking failsafe?”
“Poison. Ready to be released into the water supply. She won’t let Reaper Corp take over. If it goes down, they go down. She wants to kill everyone with poison. She claims she’ll ensure the town residents know before it happens so they can avoid drinking the water.”
Director inhales through his nose, nostrils wide and jaw clenched. “I’ll talk to her.” Gathering himself, he looks right at me, then Monster, and Riot after. “Weird thing happened early this morning. That mark you were supposed to track and bring back alive showed up in the morgue. Dead. Snapped neck. Bunch of broken bones, almost like he got trampled. Weird, right?”
This is the calmest I’ve ever seen him confront one of our fuckups. I almost grin, wanting to lay claim to that particular mistake. “Neon Demon was pretty rowdy last night,” I say instead.
“Must have been,” Director says, looking at Monster. “Though, I got reports of Brady walking out of there very much alive. With the two of you.” He whips his gaze to me and Riot. “So, oddly, I’m asking myself, where the hell did this guy get so many broken bones and a snapped neck?”
Kyd ‘ooohs’ like this is a suspenseful mystery story he can’t wait to find the answers to.
“Monster?” Director asks. “Any information?”
Monster just stares, stoic and calm.
“Riot?”
“Haven’t got a clue,” he says.
Director’s smile is almost as chilling as mine. “Ghost? Any insight?”
“He probably did something to deserve a snapped neck.” I shrug.
Staring at me, Director says, “Everyone is dismissed. Get to work and report back tonight. Ghost and Riot, you’re with me.”
Fuck.
“And you’re both at the end of the line.”
Double fuck.
“Walk there. Now. Before everyone leaves.”
Humiliation burns through me, but I go fast, wanting to beat Riot there so I’m not dead last. Everyone watches, a few smug grins are shared, and Menace actually laughs.
“You two finally break?” he asks.
“Fuck you,” Riot and I say at the same time, fighting for the second to last position.
“I’ll let you have it, sweetheart,” he whispers. “Since I ruined your ass and all.”
I punch him square in the eye.
RANK:
Seven
Menace
Glitch
Facts
Monster
Krypt
Ransom
Kyd
Ghost
Riot
* * *
In the morgue with Brady’s mangled body laid out on a table, Director squares off with us, still calmer than I expected him to be. Riot’s eye starts to swell and turn red, but he acts like it doesn’t bother him. I should have hit him harder.
“After examining the body, we found this,” he says, holding up a tiny chip with a pair of tweezers. “It’s different from the other Reaper Corp chips, and it’s nothing like Axel’s tracking chip. This is an implant from Reaper Corp, which basically tells us that Brady here was a low member. He was born from their breeding program, batch FV4027, according to this chip, but he never made it far. Axel can’t find anything useful on the chip, but Glitch had a look at it. He plugged it into his computer, and from there, he got a detailed history of how this kid was bred, what his traits should have been, and where he fell flat. To summarize, he was bred for deception and coercion, but somewhere around the age of sixteen, according to the file attached to this chip, he was released from the program and sent to the general population of their ranks. He’s a nobody, which means Reaper Corp sent a nobody into Moros.”
Which means there are probably other nobodies already planted in Moros. That’s what he’s getting at.
“Think of all the names and faces Axel could have pulled from his head had he been brought here alive like you were supposed to do.” He drops the chip. “We could uncover the moles in our town, maybe save lives. But no, you two couldn’t play nice. Once again.”
“Then stop putting us on fucking jobs together,” Riot snaps.
“I will,” Director says, inhaling deeply. “But first I’m sending you on one more together. Right now. And if you fuck this one up, you’ll both be dead. Time to start learning to work together, boys. Complete this job as a team or die. And if you come back alive and still won’t cooperate, then I’ll be forced to remove you from Vile House. You’re assets to this society, but you aren’t acting like it.” He steps closer to us as our rage builds. “I want you both here, but it’s time you start making decisions. Is your feud more important than being Vile or do you put your society first?” He holds up a slip of paper. “Here’s the job. Good luck. I do hope you both make it back.”
With that, he leaves us in the morgue with Brady’s body, the slip of paper fluttering to the floor. We both look at it, but I’m too pissed off to move, and Riot is trying not to breathe too hard.
“He doesn’t know shit. He can’t prove we did anything to Brady.”
“He can, actually,” Axel says as he walks in. “Found all sorts of things on his body, and semen was one of them. Guess whose DNA it didn’t match?” His eyelid flutters when he watches us. “And guess whose DNA is already on record for Vile House? Your semen showed up on this boy, and the rest isn’t a hard guess. Some daredevil games, bluff calling, a snapped neck, sex on top of his dead body. It’s all very cliché for the two of you.” He bends down to pick up the slip of paper. “He’s not joking. If you don’t work together for this job, you won’t get out of there alive.”
“Where?” Riot asks. “Where are we going?”
He holds out the paper. A flight schedule. “You’re flying down south to infiltrate Reaper Corp Headquarters to get a very vital bit of information.”
My stomach sinks and actual dread fills me. I’m not someone who fears death and danger, but this…
“All these chips and implants we’ve found require a keycode. Glitch has been able to crack a few of them, but they self-destruct within a few minutes. We need the master key, and you’re going to get it.”