Clark
PRESS PLAY
I hung up the phone and lit my cigar. When I got the final word that all of those Zoo animals had been locked up, a smile eased onto my face.
I wanted the Tyrant to know I was the one controlling his game, not him.
The idea of him being stripped down to his bare soul was what I wanted.
I needed him and his family weak, and I was going to attack from every angle.
I stared at Jungle. “I got the word they’ve all been taken in. Was he scared? Did he scream? You know, between you and my other source, you two can make a pretty good—”
“He wasn’t there,” Jungle said to me.
I removed the cigar from my mouth. “What does that mean?”
“Nigga, it means he wasn’t one of the ones arrested.”
The silence between us was long, eerie, and almost unsettling, as if something dark was coming from his pores.
That was when I saw it in his eyes, just as I thought I did the first time I saw him.
They had changed to some sort of cat eye.
I stared harder as a sinister grin eased on my face.
Jungle was full of evil, and that was exactly what I needed.
Being afraid of him wasn’t my worry; using him as much as I could was more of my concern.
He stood there like a true animal, ready to shed the layer of his humanity for another serving of money.
“I don’t know who those people are and don’t give a fuck to be honest. But if it were me, I would rip your fucking head off, mayne. First, you requested we shoot to kill, and that failed; now you're having the entire family arrested. When you get your shit in order, then call.”
I bellowed a sinister laugh. “Don’t worry about who they are, but what I need you to do for me. I’m unstoppable, son. You will see.”
He cracked his neck and went to back out of the room when bullets whistled through FBP.
The cigar flew from my mouth as I dropped to the floor.
When I glanced up, Jungle was gone, and for a second, I thought I saw fur and a tail dash out of the room.
I army crawled along the floor as the sounds of the bullets neared.
Rat-tat-tat- tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat- tat-tat!
“Bitch nigga, I know you’re in here!” the Tyrant roared, damn near shaking the walls. “My muhfuckin wife and kids, nigga? You lost your rabid-ass mind.”
Rat-tat-tat- tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat- tat-tat!
The sweat trickled down as I made my way to a trap door I had installed for emergency use, and this happened to be it. I went to stand when another round of bullets came flying through my office.
Rat-tat-tat- tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat- tat-tat!
“Pussy-ass house nigga! Where the fuck are you, grandpa!”
Rat-tat-tat- tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat- tat-tat!
“Run, nigga, run!” he roared. “I warned your ass!”
I could hear his footsteps approaching. I quickly stood again as my hand landed on the Mercier family book.
Giving it a slight pull, the door opened, and the moment I stepped inside, I heard the door of my office being kicked in.
The sound of him cocking the gun back blared through the trapped door.
Each shell slammed against the flooring.
The smell of hot metal crept between the books, giving me a warning that the Tyrant was just getting started.
Once inside the other part of FBP, I hurried out of the back door and made my way down the street.
I hiked the collar up on my neck and tucked my head to mask my face as I tried getting out of dodge.
The feeling of a younger me started to settle in as I thought about being alone and trying to find my way.
Knowing I had no one but myself struck fear into me as it did all those years ago.
For a moment, the thought of waving my flag seemed like the better option, but the Tyrant and I had crossed enemy lines, and there was no turning back.
With everything I’d done over the years, something in me changed each time.
The day I killed my mother, it shattered a part of my soul that held on to family.
My daughter, who betrayed me and got pregnant, shattered my heart.
Matthew, who had no control over the Tyrant, shattered my future.
My wife, who was supposed to love every side of me, even my wrongs, turned her back on me.
It shattered my trust. The Tyrant, who couldn’t find his life without knowing his past, shattered my morals.
Now, I felt completely empty with nothing to care for and no one to care about me.
This emptiness drove me to seek any means necessary to find the peace I needed.
Somehow, I needed to regain control. I knew I needed to use what resources I had left because if I didn’t, this war with the Tyrant would be one I wouldn’t win.