48. Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter forty-eight
T he shadows dance across the dimly lit walls as I take my seat at the table with the others. Just when I think Aidan couldn't look more intense, he manages to, as he prepares to give us a rundown of what he was able to find out after Dom shared his news. His dark eyes meet mine, filled with that familiar sense of purpose and caution.
"So what's the plan, boss?" Brick asks, leaning forward eagerly. His rugged features are taut with anticipation.
Aidan runs both hands through his hair. "Tane's losing his grip even more now. It's time we make our move." His gravelly voice fills the room as the rest of us listen intently. "We have to act fast, because everyone else is likely hearing exactly the same information. We could set ourselves up for a bloodbath if we don't get in and get it done. We have one shot here."
A flicker of unease twists my gut. Tane won't go down easy. But the thought of finally taking him out, of watching his empire crumble...it makes my blood burn.
"Tonight's the night," Skyler says, his piercing gaze sweeping over each of us. "We've done the groundwork, and now we strike hard and fast before he has a chance to slither away."
Adrenaline surges through me as I picture wrapping my hands around Tane's throat. I want to be the one to squeeze the life out of him.
Dom grins, cracking his knuckles. "Let's do this."
I nod, resolve steeling my nerves. Tonight, Tane's reign of terror ends. By our hands.
I take a deep breath as I stare up at the looming silhouette of Tane's compound. Floodlights bathe the perimeter in harsh white, guarded by men with guns and snarling dogs straining against their leashes. Dom and the others fan out, melting into the shadows. My heart hammers against my ribs.
It's time.
I raise my hand in signal and the Snakes and Brixtons slither forward, dispatching the guards with quick efficiency. Screams and gunshots pierce the night but we move fast, swarming the grounds like a tide of vengeance.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Dimitri, his chiseled features set in a mask of cold determination. Our gazes connect for a brief moment before he disappears inside.
I follow close behind, my senses heightened. The interior is eerily quiet, like a held breath before a plunge. We clear room after room but find no sign of Tane.
A door creaks open at the end of a long hallway and I freeze. The barrel of a gun glints in the darkness.
Before the guard can fire, I lunge forward, knocking the weapon away.
We crash to the floor in a tangle of limbs.
I wrap my hands around his throat, squeezing until his struggles cease .
Panting, I get to my feet. A muffled shout echoes from behind the door and I feel a spark of savage delight.
I've found him. Tane's fate awaits.
For all of his power and self-belief, it doesn't take us long to subdue Tane. It makes me realize that he's not the giant monster character he'd become in my head. His power was bolstered by ruling a bunch of strong and loyal men. But loyalty only lasts so long when there's little payoff. And that's about to be Tane's fatal lesson.
"Oh, we're back here again? You idiots trying to get me?" He tries to play it cool as he glances around, no doubt willing his men to enter the room and save him in a hail of gunfire. "It didn't work last time, and it most certainly isn't going to now."
I smirk. "Dude, you're hardly in a position to negotiate." I gesture at his situation—tied to a chair in the middle of one of his ops rooms. Whiteboards line the walls, dotted with diagrams and dollar figures. But whatever dark deeds they're in reference to doesn't really matter. Not any more.
"Oh Tane, you think we came across you by accident tonight? That we haven't been planning this for a while?" Brick smirks.
"Well, your little plans didn't work last time and very nearly got the lot of you killed," Tane snarks back. What's the difference now?"
"You're hardly in a position to negotiate, bro," growls Brick. "Look at you in your tiny little chair."
Tane scowls and wriggles in his restraints, but there's no give and he quickly stops.
"Whatever. You guys are nothing. You run a tiny part of my operation. There are many men stronger than you, in mind and body. And I can't wait to watch you be crushed like the tiny little ants you are." He spits, and a glob of his saliva sails a few feet and lands on the tip of Brick's shoe.
Brick snarls and starts toward the elegant, suited man, but Aidan puts out a hand to stop him. Brick sighs and backs off, muttering about his shoe.
Tane glances around at each of us, his gaze settling on Dimitri and his group. "Jesus, every time I look there are more of you. You're multiplying like bacteria." He smirks. "Although this would be a case study to disprove survival of the fittest."
Brick snarls again.
"You look familiar," Tane says, glancing at Aria. "I know you from somewhere."
"Oh yes," Aria beams. "You were one of the first customers at my new restaurant. It was an honor having you under my roof, and being able to prepare a special meal just for you."
Recognition dawns in Tane's eyes. "Aha that's it," he nods. "I never forget a face…" he pauses. "Especially not one like yours."
Aria's facial expression remains neutral, but I notice the almost imperceptible shudder. But then she puffs herself up and smiles. “The ribs you ate? The one that your bald friend liked so much? They were human ribs. Ricky’s in fact,” says Aria.
Tane’s face turns white as her words sink in.
“And in case that isn’t enough for you, the paté was also made from several of your men. Those three guards of yours who disappeared. Oh, and the dessert, too. Fingernails, eyeballs, the whole shebang. A locally-sourced, farm-to-table approach where nothing goes to waste, you know?"
"Stanley, Boss and Takowsky?" His eyes narrow and his face grows mottled with rage. He's just about foaming at the mouth. "You're fucking with me."
"Nope," Aria shrugs. "Sorry, but you're a full-blown cannibal. And you really seemed to enjoy it, too."
Tane struggles in his restraints, just about turning green. Of course, he can't move, so he pukes his guts out on the floor beside him, for once his poised charm ruffled to pieces. A splash of his vomit lands on his no doubt very expensive shoes.
Brick snickers. "Well well well, karma is a bitch, and sometimes she's quick."
Dimitri clears his throat, and Tane's eyes fly to him. “You’re an evil man, Tane Brown. And so it seems fitting to add cannibalism of your most loyal men to your list of atrocities. You do know, however, that eating the brains of another human is reported to make you crazy, right? Although clearly you’ve been able to check off that box for a while.”
"You—you—" The normally very articulate Tane Brown cannot find words. Finally, he's able to spit it out. "Who the fuck are you? You look familiar, too?"
Dimitri's eyes darken. "So fitting for you. You annihilated my whole fucking family, killing my wife and daughter, and you don't even have the common decency to remember my face. We're really all nothings to you, aren't we?"
Tane's eyes narrow in confusion. "Oh, wait… was this several years ago?"
Fucking hell. For him not to remember, I can't even imagine how many people this man has killed… how many innocent women and children that he can't even have the decency to remember.
I snarl. “Enough!" I growl, and all eyes turn to look at me. "The truth, Tane, is that your men are a bunch of lemmings, idiots blindly loyal to you because of the chance at a sliver of your power. They don’t care about you as a person, and many of them are clearly incapable of much except for following your instructions. And following instructions they think are from you.”
Just when it seems like Tane’s face couldn’t get any paler, it somehow does.
“Even if today hadn’t happened, we’d be coming after you again and again. Disrupting your business when you least expect it. You’d never be able to trust the ingredients in another meal. You’d never be able to trust any of your men to carry out the most basic of instructions without peering over their shoulder the entire time. You wouldn't be able to host a meeting without worrying your blathering idiot henchman have allowed us to insert personal pleasure devices under their skin like absolute morons! Is that the kind of life you want to lead, Tane? Is that really the quality of empire you’re able to create?"
"Jesus. When you put it that way, I could probably go on Temu and find a better option," growls Brick as he sharpens a wicked blade. Tane's eyes flick to the shiny blade of the knife, and he visibly pales.
“I am a businessman !” Tane explodes. “I have done so much for these islands! Provided jobs, created charities.”
“Everyone knows you’ve come here to exploit vulnerable people and make them do bad things, Tane. Nobody’s falling for your philanthropy act.”
“And you know what seems fitting? For someone like you to go out with a bang. And you know what this island is really good at? Fireworks. They’re like the island’s favorite pastime.”
His eyes grow wide. “Please, no.”
“But you love fireworks, Tane. Didn’t you spend over a million dollars at your company’s fourth of July bash? And didn't you ignore that the fireworks factory you commissioned them from went up in a blaze and killed all the workers?”
“Well, yes… but that didn’t mean I want to be a firework myself. And as for the workers, that's just part of doing business.”
“Come on, don’t be so selfish,” says Brick. “Appease the masses. After all you’ve put them through, the only fitting thing is for you to go out this way. In a way that nobody will ever forget. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted, anyway, Tane? To leave a legacy?”
“Yes,” he splutters, “but not like this.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers, I’m afraid,” Brick shrugs, his expression calm as if he’s giving advice to an old friend. “You’re going to have to take your lumps. Blood in, blood out and all that. All the things you drummed into your men over the years. And what did you say it was? Just business?"
For the first time, I see true fear in Tane's eyes. I didn't know if he was capable, but it turns out that inside, he's just a man. A scared man with a nice suit. “Listen, you’ve proven your point," he whimpers. "You want in on running the island business? I’ll hand it over to you, no questions asked. I’ll move to the mainland, you’ll never hear from me again. I swear. Whatever you want… just not this. ”
I smirk at his attempt to negotiate with us, to offer us an attractive slice of his business pie after resisting us, keeping us small, for so long. I shake my head. “We’re not idiots, Tane. Despite your more atrocious qualities, I’ll give it to you that you’re a shrewd businessman. Even if you did set up a satellite business on the mainland, these islands will forever be home to you."
"Right?" says Skyler, glaring at Tane. "You’ll find a way back, and it’ll be a constant game of wack-a-mole, finding out where you pop up next and having to smack you and your men down over and over again. It sounds exhausting, frankly, and while I’m confident we’ll always find a way to beat you, it’s going to drain our precious resources. We can’t have you as a distraction any more, Tane.”
"Yep, what did you call it?" Brick growls. "Just business? Collateral damage?" And with that, Brick puts a gun to Tane's head and pulls the trigger.
Tane's eyes go wide as the gun clicks and he braces for impact.
But nothing happens.
"Haha, just kidding," grins Brick. "Wanted to keep you guessing right until the end."
Relief is written all over Tane's face as he tries to catch his breath.
Without warning, Brick pulls another gun out of his waistband and shoots Tane right between the eyes.
Blood splatters on the opposite wall, along with pieces of Tane's skull and brain matter.
"That felt… anticlimactic?" Angel says. "He's really gone?" She walks over to make sure, as if him having his skull blown out at point-blank range left any room for error.
"He's had enough of a platform for far too long, and he just would have kept going on and on about how powerful he is, even when he's a husk of his former self. I was finding it depressing," Brick shrugs. "Him dead, that's all we needed. The show is yet to come. One that he, for once, doesn't get to enjoy. He'll be a posthumous star in the sky, just not the way he intended. Just you wait and see."