22. Chapter 22
“ I’m all hacked into the system. They have cameras both inside and outside, and I have a security feed running on a continuous loop.
I see four men guarding the perimeter. One man is on the roof.
Inside, there are several men, and the area is covered in goods, but I don’t know what they are.
Unfortunately, boxes are blocking some of my view, so you’ll have to be careful when entering.
I don’t see any prisoners yet, but there are cameras taking me to the lower levels.
The basement isn’t in the records, so it must be new, ” Layla said in our ears.
“ Scanning now. Yeah, the basement is extensive. There are a lot of men down there. I can’t see them all.
Some rooms are closed off to the cameras , which I’m assuming are sleeping quarters, showers, and such. ”
There was an old building, four stories tall, that Maverick used to position himself on the roof to take care of any guards outside.
Meanwhile, Khai, Sully, Dante, and I kept ourselves hidden from view of the building.
It was a one-story structure with several entrances, including a garage for loading and unloading, and no windows.
“ Let Maverick do his job, then Khai, go in and clean up the other men that are hidden from him. Once you all are clear, go on in ,” Sid said.
“ The doors have card access, it looks like. Check one of the downed men to get in ,” Dalton continued.
Dante popped a bullet into the chamber of his gun. “Once we get in, we go radio silent. Voices in our heads will be a distraction. Unless there’s an emergency, no yapping.”
“Ready when you are, Mav. I’ll hide the bodies once they drop in case some asshole decides he needs to smoke,” Khai said, taking off toward the building as the rest of us stayed behind, waiting to get in.
“This is gonna be fun,” Sully whispered. “It’s been too fucking long since I got to really play.”
I said nothing, ready to shed some blood myself. But this was the first time I’d been calm since learning that Thomas was taken from me. We would find him, and when we did, he would come to live with me. No more arguing and waiting. Only I could protect him.
I couldn’t hear the bullet, but the man on the roof dropped in silence, and I assumed Maverick was taking over.
So it begins .
A guard stood by one of the doors to the left, and suddenly he grew alert, looking around. You could hear the bullet hit the concrete block of the building.
“ What the hell was that, Mav ?” Khai hissed.
“ It’s nothing. ”
The guard who had his gun drawn dropped like lead.
“What the fuck was that?” Sully whispered.
My sentiments exactly.
“Mav never fucking misses,” Dante replied, sharing our thoughts.
“ You’re clear ,” Khai said in our ears. “ I’ve already unlocked the doors. You’re free to enter. ”
Sully headed right, Dante headed forward, and I went left, which, according to Layla, led closest to the basement. My gut told me Thomas was down there. In what state, I had no idea, but he was there.
Visions of him bloodied, beaten, or raped intruded into my thoughts. I had only been in this job for a couple of years, but I had seen some of the worst in people. I knew what humans were capable of. Hell, what I was capable of.
Rape was deeply personal to me. If that happened to Thomas, I wouldn’t make their deaths painless. It would be slow and torturous.
The interior was dimly lit. The space had open rooms crammed with boxes and crates, along with other rooms that were closed off.
There were a couple of forklifts and other mechanical equipment.
It looked like a typical warehouse, and perhaps it was.
It was all beneath the surface that was important.
No doubt, the newly installed basement had drugs, guns, and… Thomas .
I couldn’t find the damn entrance until I stumbled onto a metal door built into the floor. I tugged on the handle and cursed. Locked.
“Layla, can you hack the code on the door? There’s a keypad.” I whispered.
“ Give me a second .”
I tucked myself behind some boxes for cover as she worked. It took so damn long that Sully and Dante wrapped up their jobs and met me.
Sully had blood on his hands, which he wiped on his black cargo pants. Dante held out his gun, keeping a watchful eye.
“All dead?” I asked.
“I have a feeling most are downstairs,” Dante said.
Soon, the door gently clicked.
“ Done ,” she said.
Dante tugged the door open, and I was the first to scale down the metal steps, careful to keep quiet, my knife in my hand, ready. I was watchful for any movement or notice that I was there. The men had no reason to assume they were under attack yet, so nothing was buzzing down there.
The area was fresh with paint and new concrete. There were rooms with metal doors, hiding who knew what.
“ Found them. They’re at the very other end of the cellar in a large, enclosed room with cells. A young man is there, who I assume is Thomas. There’s a young blonde girl and four other women. ”
Just when I went to rush off, Dante gripped my shoulder. “Patience. Thomas isn’t going anywhere. We need to clear this place out.”
“I know.” I hissed under my breath.
“Don’t risk his life if you get him out before we clear the place. These assholes need to die.”
Patience wasn’t my strong suit when I was determined, but I couldn’t fault Dante’s logic. “ I know ,” I repeated. “I’m focused.”
Sully patted my back and then gripped my shoulder. “I’ll go in the other direction to find me some meat toys to play with.”
“That’s fine, but we all leave at the same time, no matter how much fun you’re having.”
“Always the mood killer, Dante. Fine .”
While he wanted to play, I knew Sully would take care of as many men as he could, cleaning out the place.
Dante headed off in Thomas’s direction, and I followed close behind, my knife twirling in my fingers. I had several daggers tucked in sheaths on the strap around my thigh, and I had two guns holstered at my side.
He looked at me and pointed at the door on the right. I nodded as he went left.
I tested the doorknob; the metal was cold to the touch, and I pressed my ear to it. Soft sounds of running water on the other side could be heard. There was at least one person inside.
I turned the knob slowly, inched the door open, and peeked inside. There was a man wearing all black with a black apron, washing some tools in an industrial sink. But it was the blood that drew my attention. Were we too late?
First, I needed to take him out. I couldn’t just throw a knife and expect him to drop as they did in video games. Besides, I didn’t want these men to die quickly, anyway .
I entered the room, sneaking up behind him, keeping my eyes trained on him, and trying to ignore the body on the patient chair, bleeding out.
He whistled some tune I didn’t recognize as I approached him closer and closer. My hand itched as I wrapped my fingers around the knife. I switched hands as I reached him. I quickly placed my hand over his mouth and shoved the sharp point into his esophagus to prevent him from screaming.
He dropped his tools in the metal sink with a loud clang and fought me, but I had a strong hold on him.
I pulled out my knife, warm blood coating my hand, before I slid it into his ear.
His legs wobbled and wavered, his fingers clawed at me, but he quickly weakened.
He screamed into my hand, fighting, struggling.
.. It would take him a while to die yet, but he didn’t have the strength to fight me.
I eased him onto the painted concrete and let him bleed out. He gurgled on his blood, reaching for me as I stepped back to check on the victim.
I didn’t recognize him. His torso and chest had been carved open, and he was missing organs. Was that Thomas’s fate? Did they plan to harvest his organs and sell them on the black market? Just so his father could pay his debt? The red tried to consume me again, but I breathed through it.
No time. I’d let The District and Dalton handle the aftermath of this. They could track down the leaders of that particular ring.
I stepped back to the wheezing man on the floor and squatted down, dragging my blade through his blood and sweaty bangs. “ You all should’ve stayed away from him. This time, you’ve crossed the wrong person. Now you’re all going to die.”
His brown eyes grew wide as he continued to gasp for air when I dragged my blade across his cheek.
His fear pulled a smile from me. What would Sully do to create as much pain as possible?
Pluck out an eye? Sever fingers? Cut along his forehead where nerve endings congregated close to the brain?
I just wanted him to feel excruciating pain before he finally gasped his last breath, but I was running out of time.
I decided on the forehead, cutting from one end to the other, opening up his flesh, enjoying his staggered and gargled scream as he drowned in his own blood. His pain only slightly alleviated my own. I wouldn’t be satiated until all the men were dead and I had Gregory Ivanov’s head on a platter.
I stood, wiped my bloody hand on my pants, and headed back out to let the man die on his own. There was no quick death for him. Suffocating on his own blood was the perfect ending.
Dante couldn’t be seen, so I continued. The next room was locked, so I bypassed it. Dante soon caught up to me, out of breath with a bleeding lip. I raised a brow at him. He shrugged, and we continued.
The place was massive, and it must have taken a long time to build.
It had sleeping quarters, a kitchen, bathrooms, a small gym, and a sparring room.
There were locked doors where I assumed hid illegal substances and weapons.
This was a serious and growing business.
They weren’t messing around, finding organs lucrative.
Suddenly, a man stepped out, looking down, zipping up his pants. Dante and I stopped in our tracks, as did the man, as soon as he saw us. When his eyes turned wide, I kicked him in the head with a quick roundhouse before shoving my knife into his throat, bleeding all over me.
“God, I hate the smell of blood. Always have,” Dante said out of the blue.
I pulled out the dagger and stabbed the man several more times before he grew limp on the ground. Dante and I dragged him back into the bathroom and dumped his body into a stall. We didn’t need any more surprises.
“This place is insane,” he whispered, echoing my earlier thoughts. “This operation may be relatively new, but it appears they intend to make this a massive part of their organization. Our Gregory Ivanov is growing in the criminal underground.”
“He needs to fucking die. If he’s not here, we hunt him down.”
Dante grunted in acknowledgement.
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and tucked myself behind boxes, and Dante followed me.
We stayed put until the guard walked past us.
When he did, I jumped him, shoving my knife into his mouth from behind, so no noise escaped him.
I pulled it out and shoved it into the brain stem. He quickly dropped, and I let him go.
I stood there, drenched in blood. Would Thomas be upset with me? Would he be scared? There wasn’t much I could do about it currently.
With the rest of the doors locked, we finally approached the last one, which was more like a vault.
“ I’ve already got it open for you ,” Layla said. “ The cells are run on a separate system, but they are all controlled through electronic locks. Those are unlocked as well. ”
I pulled the heavy door open, and we stepped inside to the stench of sweat, piss, and defecation. It assaulted my nose. How dare they treat my Thomas like a fucking barn animal ready for the slaughterhouse.
“I’ll get the other prisoners. You grab Annie and Thomas,” Dante said.
There were several rows of barred cells flanking either side of the room.
I stopped and my heart lurched, seeing Thomas curled into a ball on the cold floor in only his underwear, sleeping, his face hidden in his arms. There was a bucket for piss and shit tucked in a corner, and next to him was an empty bowl that had held either water or food.
I tried not to let the red rage take over. I needed to get him fucking home and never let him out of my sight again.
The barred door opened easily, and I stepped inside the cell, kneeling by him as the smell assaulted my nose.
I pressed my hand to his shoulder, feeling warm skin, so I knew he was alive. My fingers trailed through his curls, wet to the touch. “Thomas. Little Rabbit.”
He whimpered and started shivering as he stirred awake.
I lifted him and held him. I knew he was alive, but I needed to feel it, too. He stank of nervous sweat, but I would get him home and cleaned soon enough.
His trembling body suddenly stiffened, and he tried to fight me off. “No, no, no… No more. Please. I just want to go home.”
“Thomas!”
He froze again, hopefully recognizing my voice .
Pulling back, he looked at me, and I wanted to tear the world apart once again. His face was battered, one eye swollen shut and bruised.
He reached for my face. “Is that you, Superman? Am I dreaming?”
“It’s me. I’m here to take you home.”
Tears spilled out of his eyes, and his busted lip trembled as he lunged at me. “Oh, god! I knew you’d come. I just knew it. You promised to protect me, and here you are.”
“I wanted to get here sooner.”
Thomas wiped his face with the backs of his hands. “You’re here now. You’ve kept your promise, never lying to me. It’s the one thing I love about you the most.”
“I’ll always come for you.”
His busted bottom lip trembled. “I know.”