20. Ren
20
REN
M y feet feel heavier than normal as we climb the stairs to get to Xander’s office. I look around the house as we walk. This house used to be my sanctuary. Oh, how the world has changed since then. The same halls I used to run down playing with Quinton when we were just boys, now hold guards who reach for their guns when they see me.
“Dad is not going to be happy about this,” Scarlet points out the obvious as we approach Xander’s office.
“Just let me do the talking,” Quinton suggests, and I’m all for it. If anyone can get through to his dad, it’s him.
The closer we get to the door, the louder the voices get from inside the room along with my mother’s sobbing. Q opens the door and we all step inside.
The room falls silent.
“What the fuck, Quinton?” Xander growls, scolding his son. “What the hell are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that we need Ren right now and there is no reason he shouldn’t help. He already knows Rebecca and her compounds?—”
“We can’t take the risk,” Xander cuts in. “What if he has one of his episodes?”
“River wants the same thing we want right now,” Q points out.
“It’s true, even if I turn into River now, he would head straight to Rebecca to get Luna. She is his sister too. One of the reasons he told me to get away from you all in the beginning was to keep Luna safe. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.” It’s still weird as fuck talking about River like this now that I know he only exists in my head, but it is what it is. I can’t change how fucked up I am. At least not right away.
“I know you don’t like this,” my dad addresses Xander, “But I would feel better if Ren is with us too. Like Quinton says, he knows the place.”
“So do I,” Scarlet says determinedly.
Quinton, Xander, and I shake our heads at the same time. “You are not coming,” Xander tells Scarlet in a stern voice, answering her unspoken question.
Scar frowns and folds her arms in front of her chest but doesn’t disagree, even though I know she wants to. She knows there is no way they would let her go with us.
The room falls into a tense silence. My mom is still quietly sobbing. My dad is next to her on edge, and Xander is staring out the window like the answers are about to fly past it.
“Let’s just stop thinking about it and just do what we do best,” Quinton announces.
“And what’s that?” Xander questions.
Q rolls his eyes. “Killing everyone who crosses us,” he says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
Xander rubs his chin. “He isn’t wrong. We are good at that.”
If this situation wasn’t so serious, I would laugh at the way he is talking about killing people.
Xander suddenly looks at me, his expression stern. “Tell me everything you know about Rebecca and where she could be hiding.”
“Since you stormed New Haven to get me and Scarlet out. I’m guessing they have moved to a different location. Rebecca isn’t stupid. She probably already had a second location set up. And I think I might know how to find it.”
“Please share it with the class,” Quinton jokes.
“When I was watching the compound a few months ago, I noticed they would keep carrying stuff into one building, but they never carried it out. It was an unnatural amount of supplies and guns, much too large to hold by the small building, which led me to think there might be a tunnel underneath. That would also explain how Rebecca got away so fast when you came for us.”
“A tunnel makes sense. We didn’t do a thorough sweep while we were there. After we got you out, we just left but have been keeping tabs on the property, and Rebecca has not returned. However, some people are still living in New Haven and guards have resumed their positions.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Quinton questions impatiently. “Let’s get this show on the road, fuck some people up.”
“The main mission here is to get Luna back, unharmed,” Roman presses. “Then we can fuck some people up… I mean I’m all about it, but Luna first.”
“Agreed.” Xander gets up from his chair. “Let me gather a team, we’ll gear up and leave as soon as possible.”
Scarlet gives her brother and father a hug as they make their way out of the office while my dad holds onto my mom for a few minutes, letting her sob into his chest.
When my dad releases her, she falls into my arms next. She smells like home and my childhood. Warm and safe. I hold her tight as she whispers encouragements into my ear. “You’ve got this. Just be careful and stay close to your dad. I know you’ll find your sister and bring her home. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Mom,” I respond before finally letting her go.
Xander, Q, and my dad are already out in the hallway, but Scarlet has been waiting patiently for me in the doorway. As soon as my mom steps aside, Scar closes the distance between us. I hold my arms open, and she falls into them like she belongs wrapped up in my hold. She buries her face in my chest, wrapping her arms around my torso so tightly that I’m surprised by her strength. I lay my chin on the crown of her head, enjoying her silky hair on my skin and the coconut scent of her shampoo.
“I love you,” she whispers into my chest.
“I love you too, Angel.”
She gives me one more squeeze before releasing me hesitantly. Once she steps away, and I look up, I find Xander standing in the doorway with his arms crossed in front of his chest, giving me what I can only describe as a death stare. Only when Scarlet nudges her dad on the way out of the office does he look away, releasing me from his intense stare.
“Let’s go to the armory and gear up,” Quinton nods at me, signaling for me to come along. I’m surprised when Xander doesn’t interject, half expecting him to put me back in the cell until the moment we’re leaving. Instead, I follow them back downstairs to the other side of the basement, where the armory is hidden.
Xander types in a code to the keypad hanging on the wall, a moment later, the heavy metal door unlocks and swings open. I’ve been inside before, but Xander’s stocked up since the last time I was here.
Not only are the walls full of guns and Kevlar clothing, there are also crates with ammo and smaller guns stacked around the room.
“Those new vests are very lightweight and still bulletproof,” Xander explains, pointing to some tactical vests hanging on the wall. “There should be enough for all of us. My guys have their own shit in the barracks.”
Without another word, we all start to dress in tactical gear, putting the Kevlar on and multiple straps around our waist, legs, and shoulders to hold various sizes of guns and ammo. Once we are all protected and armed to the teeth, we make our way back upstairs and outside, where dozens of black SUVs are already waiting.
We pile in one of the cars silently, while the driver revs the engine and takes off immediately after we close the doors. I took the seat up front while Xander and Quinton are in the second row, and my father is in the third row.
As we drive, we go over the plan of attack in detail. Once again, I tell them everything I know about the compound, which Xander seems quite impressed by.
“You know a lot about this place.”
“I spent a lot of time surveilling it,” I answer. “I was planning on taking them down by myself, so I needed all the info I could get.”
“Did you really think you could go on your own and get out of there alive?” Q question.
“Honestly, for a while, I wasn’t that worried about getting out alive. All I wanted was to kill Rebecca.” My words make my dad curse under his breath. I know, knowing this must hurt him, and I really hope he doesn’t tell Mom or Luna about this. “I didn’t care about my own life back then, but that’s in the past. I do now.”
I know I have people here that care about me and that don’t want me to get hurt. Not only my family, but Scarlet too. I can’t leave them, and I definitely can’t leave her.
It’s late in the afternoon by the time we finally roll up to the compound. Before we make it to the gate, Xander gives us all earpieces to stay in contact with each other while we’re here. I pop the small device into my ear.
With an army in tow and New Haven’s defenses down from the last attack, we don’t encounter a lot of resistance. The SUV in front of us crashes into the gate, the already bent metal giving way with ease, letting us drive into the compound.
There are only a few guards present, which are quickly taken down by our guys before we even get out of the SUV. When we do get out of the car, the surrounding area is empty, void of all the people who are usually bustling around.
“Make sure the area is clear while we check out the building with the tunnel,” Xander orders his men, before we make our way to said building.
Just as I suspected, we find a latch leading to a tunnel inside.
“We can’t wait for backup,” I say. “Rebecca must know we’re here. If we don’t move now, she might be gone.”
“Agreed, let’s move,” Xander responds before telling all his men to follow us through the tunnel via his earpiece.
Guns drawn, we enter the narrow tunnel. It’s held up by two by fours and boards on the top, threatening to come down any moment. There is a single string of dim lights illuminating the otherwise dark space, but we can’t see far ahead because the tunnel isn’t straight. For a while, I fear that this is the trap, and the tunnel will blow up any moment, burying us inside.
It isn’t until we turn and find a door at the end that I breathe a little lighter. My father leads the way, with me close behind, while Xander and Quinton are behind us. When my father reaches for the doorknob, the door doesn’t open.
“It’s locked,” he whispers. “I’m going to kick it in,” he warns a moment before lifting his leg and kicking inches away from the doorknob.
The wood gives away with ease, opening up into what looks like a storage room.
“I can’t believe they didn’t expect us to find this tunnel. This is too easy,” Quinton points out.
“I agree. Someone must have warned them by now that we were coming. Where is the welcoming committee?” I question.
“Might be behind door number two,” my father points to the only exit the small building has.
“Or they are not here at all,” Xander shares his thoughts. “Either way, let’s move forward.”
My father nods and moves to the next door. Not even checking if it’s unlocked, he kicks it open like he did with the last one.
I fully expect the door to lead to the outside. But instead of the afternoon sun, another larger room greets us. Inside, we finally meet the welcome committee.
The first person I see is Rebecca, standing in the center of the small group. Her son, William beside her. Some of her guards surround her, but then there are a few men I don’t recognize. And those don’t fit in here at all. Dressed in black with tattoos peeking out on their hands and necks. They look more like thugs.
“That’s Dimitri Novicov. Russian mob,” Xander grits through his teeth, explaining who they are.
We’re all holding guns and pointing them at each other but luckily, no one shoots right away.
“Xander, old friend,” Dimitri greets in a thick Russian accent. “Glad you could make it. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about the situation we have on our hands. See, these lovely people here are providing us with young girls for our auctions, so I would really appreciate it if you would not interfere with that.”
“They have one of my own, so you bet your fucking ass I’m interfering with that,” Xander spits.
“Luna is unharmed and will be returned to you in exchange for Ren, as promised,” Rebecca speaks.
“My daughter didn’t leave here unharmed and for that, you will pay.” Xander raises his gun higher, pointing directly at Rebecca’s head. She gulps, her eyes go wide with fear, and I can see her hands shaking from over here. Her son, William, still looking smug as ever. He has no idea who he is dealing with.
I enjoy seeing her frightened, but I also don’t want Xander to kill her. I should be the one doing that and no one else.
“I’m sure we can figure someone out that would satisfy you,” Dimitri says, voice quivering in fear. “We just got some new young girls in, only fifteen and untouched. You can have one as a retribution.”
Xander takes a threatening step toward them. “I want Luna and Ren coming back home with us unharmed, and I want her dead for what she did to my daughter. Agree to my terms or we start shooting.”
While Rebecca looks like she’s about to throw up, Dimitri simply smiles before he says, “You are outnumbered.” His words barely leave his mouth before Xander’s men start piling in behind us.
“Are you sure about that?” Now it’s Xander’s turn to smile.
Dimitri rubs his chin with his free hand, like he is seriously thinking about the offer. Then he looks up at Rebecca mouthing the word Sorry. Shock takes over Rebecca’s face as she shakes her head profusely. She opens her mouth to say something, but it’s too late. Dimitri lifts his gun to her head and pulls the trigger.
One moment, her eyes plead with him not to kill her, the next they go blank. Her lifeless body crumbles to the floor like a doll. And just like that, she’s finally gone.
William stands in shock, starting at his mother’s dead body like he can’t believe she is gone. His shock quickly turns to anger. Anger directed not at Dimitri, but me. His unhinged gaze finds mine as he lifts his gun toward me. Unlucky for him, I’m faster. I raise my gun and before he has the chance to pull his trigger, I fire my gun.
The bullet hits him in the center of his chest. Blood quickly pulsing out of his wound, soaking his white shirt crimson. He falls onto his knees, still trying to lift his gun higher, but the strength has already left his body. He falls forward, landing on the ground, only a few feet from his mother.
At least I got to kill one of them.
“Go get the girl,” Dimitri orders his men, completely unphased with what just happened. “And lower your guns. We’re all civil here.”
Dimitri’s guys lower their guns right away but Rebecca’s men stand frozen in shock, staring at their fallen leaders, like lost puppies.
“I said lower your fucking guns,” Dimitri snarls, drawing them out of their frightened trance.
Two of the men disappear through the exit. The afternoon sunlight filtering in lets us know that the exit leads to the outside. A few tense moments later, they return with Luna walking in between them. As soon as she sees us, she runs to us, falling into our father’s arms. He engulfs her into a bear hug, shielding her from the death inside this room.
“Are we even now?” Dimitri asks.
“For now,” Xander responds.
Dimitri nods. His shoulders sag slightly, as if he is relieved not to be on Xander’s bad side anymore. And he should be. Xander is not somebody you want to mess with.
Dimitri and his men leave the room while we make our way back through the tunnel. Dad never lets go of Luna, keeping her by his side as we arrive back at New Haven.
My mind is still reeling, trying to let it sink in that Rebecca and William are dead. Even though it wasn’t by my hand, she is finally gone. This is what I’ve been working toward for so long, and now that it has happened, I can’t quite process that it’s over.
Quinton walks in front of me as we step out into the now setting sun. Outside, we find the street empty. My father still doesn’t let go of Luna, holding her close by his side, as we walk back toward the gate.
I squint against the sun, my eyes not fully adjusting to the bright light yet. I bring my hand up, holding it above my brow to shield me from the sun. That’s when I see him perched up on the guard house with a rifle in front of him. A gun that’s pointed straight at the person next to me. Quinton.
It feels like everything happens at the same time. The gun going off, me throwing myself against my best friend, the pain radiating through my chest, and then finally me hitting the ground.