CHAPTER SEVEN
REBEL
The following night I sat out front waiting for my friends to arrive. Storm had done a good job avoiding me on campus. Her car was in the driveway, so I knew she was home. My torment of her would have to wait for another day. Business had to be done.
Once all five of us had gathered, we piled into the rental car Dom had picked up earlier that evening, using a fake identity of course. We knew better than to use our own vehicles for a job like this.
Dom drove, the car filled with conversation as we made our way to a neighboring town several miles away. While the rest of us talked shit about a variety of topics, Casper sat silently, his opinions written all over his face. When Stray bragged about screwing two girls at a time the previous weekend at a frat party, Casper frowned, rolled his eyes, and pursed his lips in disbelief. No words needed.
I didn’t have much to add to the discussion. While I should have been focused on the task at hand, my thoughts kept straying back to Storm. Storm Masters. A twenty year old junior with an Instagram account that had kept me scrolling until late last night. Mostly party pics with her friends.
Previous photos of her with blonde hair confirmed my suspicions that she dyed her hair. I liked the red better. It made her eyes shine brighter. From what I could tell, she was single. Not that I cared. Nothing would chase me off now that I’d made her my target.
Pulling out my phone, I went to her account, checking for any new posts. She’d posted to her story. Too bad I couldn’t view it without her seeing that I’d looked. I wasn’t ready for her to know I was this invested.
“Do we need to make any stops on the way?” Dominik asked, glancing over at me. His gaze landed on my phone screen. “Damn, who is this girl? I haven’t seen you this interested in anyone since… well since pretty much ever actually.”
“No stops.” I turned my phone off before shoving it into my pocket. “In and out. Phones off, guys.”
Couldn’t have them pinging off any local towers. Just in case.
We entered the town well after dark. Since one couldn’t simply swipe organs from any random person —they might not be healthy or the right blood type—we’d selected our guy tonight from an organ donation list. A list we’d obtained from a source that hadn’t been cheap. Although after tonight we’d be making our money back and then some.
Once we parked outside the ranch style house, we donned black and white comedy and tragedy masks. Mine was tragedy. Even I thought it was creepy as hell.
I pulled the hood of my black hoodie up to hide my hair. I’d worn a scarf to cover the tattoos on my neck. No identifying features. We weren’t planning to kill this man.
Together we moved as a unit. Stray went ahead, a syringe tucked into his sleeve. Casper brought up the rear, carrying a bag of supplies. We didn’t always do jobs like this ourselves, preferring to hire out any tasks that felt out of our area of expertise.
The med student we often employed for organ harvests was currently out of the country. Jordan had assured us that a simple kidney grab was no big deal. Casper, a human biology student, could handle it with some detailed instruction. Or so we’d been told.
Stray knocked on the door and waited. The rest of us stood back, ready to move when the door opened. No visible cameras. That made this easier. Once the door opened to reveal the man we’d come for, everything happened fast.
His jaw dropped when he saw Stray’s mask then the rest of us gathered behind him. Stray moved fast, wedging a foot in the door as he stuck the syringe into the man’s neck. He stumbled backwards, falling down on the floor in the entryway.
We entered the house, quick to shut and lock the door. I assigned Auryn to stand watch while the rest of us picked up the unconscious man and carried him to the bedroom. Casper quickly got to work, opening the supply bag. He’d studied the videos and instructions Jordan sent. Now he had to pull off an organ removal without killing our victim. Just in case shit went south, I had our cleaners on standby for a body disposal. I wasn’t taking any chances.
Casper motioned for Stray to hold a flashlight on the spot where he would be cutting. Then he put on clean gloves and used disinfectant to cleanse the man’s skin and the tools he’d be using. I stood at the foot of the bed, watching intently.
“Damn, that’s nasty,” Dom murmured as he watched the scalpel slide through the man’s flesh.
Casper paused, shooting him a dirty look. I nudged Dom, miming for him to shut it. We didn’t need a distraction botching this whole thing.
As Casper worked to carefully remove one kidney, I watched in fascination. Was there supposed to be that much blood? Damn. This dude better not die on us.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Casper placed the kidney into a cooler filled with ice. He sucked in a hiss of breath as he worked on patching the guy back together.
I risked pissing him off by quietly asking, “This dude isn’t going to bleed to death, is he?”
Casper shot me a withering glance and shrugged. That was reassuring. Since I really didn’t want to have a body to take care of this time, I planned to make an anonymous 911 call once we were finished here.
Unable to stay still any longer, I left the bedroom and paced the hallway. Since Dom couldn’t seem to keep his mouth shut another moment, he joined Auryn near the front door. Finally, Casper and Stray exited the bedroom with the cooler and supply bag in hand. Done. Just like that.
“Everything all good, man?” I lightly punched Casper in the shoulder.
He nodded, making the okay symbol with a hand. Good enough for me. I sent Auryn out first to make sure the street was clear. We didn’t need a neighbor spotting us on our way out. Then we all climbed back into the rental and took off.
We stopped at a gas station on the edge of town and used the phone to call 911. The drive back to Wintervale went fast. Once we arrived, we went straight to Destiny Church, our preferred place of business.
The church itself was on the small side. When it had been operational, it had likely held less than a hundred people. Now it was little more than a long forgotten building with boarded up windows, discolored paint, and a slight lean.
We parked behind the church, out of view of the road. Our buyer was already there.
This was where things could get dicey. More than one fool had tried to rip us off. That didn’t usually end well for them.
“Casper and I will do the hand off,” I said before getting out of the car. “You three watch our backs. Anyone does anything funny, shoot them.”
With the other three right behind us, Casper and I stood between the two cars. The gun tucked into my hoodie pocket provided little security. If anything went wrong, it would be my crew that took care of business. We were a well-oiled machine. Able to read each other with a mere look. I trusted them with my life.
Two men exited the other car. One of them hung back, his hand on his hip, ready to go for his weapon. The other approached with a fat bag of cash. I motioned for Dom to count the contents.
We all waited in tense silence until he said, “Two hundred grand.”
“Perfect.” I nodded for Casper to hand over the kidney cooler. “Enjoy your new kidney.”
“It’s for my daughter,” the man said, gratefully grasping the cooler handle. “You have no idea how much this means to us. She’s at the end of a long transplant list. She’d have died before she ever got one.”
I didn’t need the sob story. I had no interest in getting personal with a client. All I cared about was the cash.
“Good luck,” I said, waiting for them to get in their car and drive away before letting my guard down.
They left without incident. Satisfaction crept in, leaving me content. I was ready to get home and plan how I would further torment Storm. Imagine my delight when the guys dropped me off right as she pulled into her driveway.